To Be Chosens
by LizzeXX
Summary: 11/OC -Time Lady- The Doctor and Mac, a Time Lady and the Doctor's Chosen, have escaped the Silence for now. But as they try to deal with the departure of the Ponds another mystery is growing, Clara Oswald. What will happen to them when the Ponds are lost? Who is this woman that keeps popping up with the same face? What will happen on Trenzalore? Fifth in the Time Lady Memoirs.
1. Pond Life

A/N: Hi there! This story is To Be Chosens, the fifth story in my fourth OC series, The Time Lady Memoirs, for Doctor Who. I would recommend that new readers look at the first four stories (Losing Hope, Finding Forgiveness, Endeavors in Wooing, and Falling in Love) to understand my OC, Mackenzie (Mac) and the Doctor's relationship :) If interested, my other 3 series are The Academic Series (the Professor), The Lunar Cycle (Evy Daniels), and The Heart of Time Saga (the Angel) ;) This story will focus on my OC/Time Lady, Mac AKA Naery, the official pairing name for her and the Doctor being Thaery :) This story will largely follow the events that Mac is aware of and a part of, but will also include some scenes with the Doctor elsewhere and possibly others when they talk about her. This will a Doctor/OC series :)

This will essentially be a revision of Series 7 to incorporate the existence of another Time Lord, Mac. This story will be updated every day with each chapter being 1 episode, however the Christmas specials and 50th anniversary will be two chapters for each special. There may be a few mini-sodes popping up along the way for a total of about 22 chapters ;)

Quick physical description of Mac: she's a tallish woman with wavy ginger hair that goes to a little past her shoulders, she tends to wear it hanging free with a headband (a cool one ;)). She's pale but has a few freckles splattered across her nose and light green eyes eyes. She tends to wear a strapless or thin-strapped dress that's a little more fitted on the top and loose for the skirt that goes to about her knees. She wears flats and a cardigan with bigger-on-the-inside pockets to it :) For a reference, an actress that I think is similar to Mac is Emma Stone ;) She is currently on her 8th incarnation and, as of the end of Endeavors in Wooing, was 1,113 years old :)

~8~ is a scene break.

"_italics_" is Gallifreyan.

'_italics_' is telepathic communication.

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who...or the purple coat would have been the outfit for the entirety of 11's run :)

Enjoy!

~8~

Pond Life

**APRIL**

Mac laughed as the Doctor tried, yet again, to tickle her as he moved around the console, the phone ringing on speaker as he attempted to call the Ponds. It had been…quite the reunion between them all, revealing they weren't quite dead had lost its surprise when they realized that River had gone to visit her friends and let slip that they were actually alive. They couldn't fault their daughter though, she'd grown up with Amy and considered the woman to be one of her best friends, they couldn't expect her to keep a secret like that from the humans. They'd both gotten a blast of water to the face from Amy's water pistol when they'd gone to see her and Rory on Christmas. Still, after the awkwardness and the processing that two years had gone by for the Ponds, they had a wonderful hug and a delicious Christmas Dinner with their friends.

They were trying though, very hard not to get the Ponds too involved in their adventures. They'd given the humans a house for a reason, they…they wanted the Ponds to settle down, start a new adventure, a human one, a family. She felt so incredibly guilty about everything that Amy had gone through because Kovarian had failed to check whether SHE could carry a child to term. She really wanted to give Amy the chance to really experience pregnancy, to be able to remember it and hold her child and know it was hers and raise it and love it. That wasn't something she or Rory would be able to do if they travelled on the TARDIS.

They did like to check in from time to time, just because they weren't on Earth at the moment, rather more enjoying the wonders of the Universe together, didn't mean that their enemies or new enemies wouldn't target the Earth in their absence. They couldn't really go to UNIT now that they were both officially listed as dead and had to maintain their cover, but they could speak to their companions a bit, see what was going on in the world of Earth. And, since Martha had worked for UNIT and Donna couldn't remember them and Rose was in a parallel world and Jack was slinking about elsewhere…that really only left them the Ponds to speak to to keep informed about the earth.

"Hello Ponds!" the Doctor called as they got the answer phone, "Checking in. How are you?"

"Are you two doing alright?" she asked, "Coping? We know it can be a bit hard to get used to life on Earth and all…"

The Ponds had been doing quite well for the two years they were 'dead' but now that they knew they were alive and that the TARDIS could pop in at any minute, she almost felt like the Ponds were struggling to keep up with their ordinary lives and to let go of their lives in the box. She had gotten the sense from speaking to them that they'd spent a majority of the two years on edge, listening for the TARDIS, not making any extreme commitments to be careful incase they turned up out of the blue. And that wasn't any way to live.

"Not much to report on our end," the Doctor added, thinking about their latest adventures, "Surfed the fire falls of Floridal 9. Not deliberately, just the easiest way out…"

"Hardly," Mac scoffed with a laugh, "We could have easily negotiated with the Sontarans when they cornered us on that bridge, YOU just wanted to surf on magma. Have you any idea how hot that was!? I nearly singed my eyebrows off."

"Not nearly as 'hot' as you are dear," he grinned, pausing behind her to wind his arms around her waist, resting his chin o her shoulder to give her a peck on the cheek, nuzzling his nose to her temple before he looked back at the answerphone, making no move to step away from her.

And why would he? They'd FINALLY reached the point where they could be termed genuine Chosens and, after waiting so long, he was NOT taking anything for granted when it came to her, he just wanted to hold her and kiss her and touch her as much as he could, he still couldn't believe they were there, they were actually each other's Chosen's like they should have been all along. It was like a dream come true.

"We also met Mata Hari in Paris," Mac hummed, "Well, I say met…"

The Doctor chuckled, "That was an entertaining night."

"It was NOT my fault," she turned in his arms, putting her own around his neck, "What sort of woman shows up in a hotel room, wearing nothing but a fur coat, and I mean NOTHING but a fur coat and then drops it in front of a man who checked in with psychic paper saying reservations for the honeymoon suite?!"

He grinned and leaned in, kissing her, Mac had been furious when the woman had entered the room and dropped her coat the moment she saw the Doctor to reveal she wasn't wearing anything at all. Mac had just gone into the next room to get some tea for the crumpet he'd been warming over the fire when Mata Hari had entered…and then she'd promptly thrown the tea pot at the woman's head…well, not quite, more like the wall beside her head. It DID have the desired effect of getting Mata Hari to grab her coat and rush off, but it also meant that Mac was quite angry. She only really threw glass objects like the little china tea pot, when she was furious…

He'd had a VERY pleasant time calming her down, using all his considerable years of experience to help.

"Also got to lay down some backing vocals," the Doctor continued.

"I can't believe you actually remembered all the limericks you sang to Amy and Rory about me when the siren got you," Mac laughed, he'd turned it into a bit of a rap, added new lyrics, just for her.

"Well of course I remembered, I was talking about YOU dear," he tapped her nose and stepped away, heading to the console, "We should be with you any day now," he got back to point, realizing that their time on the answer phone was likely running short, "Literally any day. Helmic Regulator's playing up. Can't get the temporal steering right…"

"Doctor!" Mac gasped, rushing over as alarms started to go off, "You're heading her for Ancient Greece!" she sighed, "Sorry Amy, Rory, got to cut this a bit short, bye!" she put the phone back down on its hook, ending the call and hurrying to focus on the matter at hand, they really couldn't go crashing into one of the ancient eras…again.

**MAY**

"I'm telling you Doctor we don't need to bother them," Mac rushed after the Doctor as he raced up the stairs of the Pond house one night, needing to get to Amy and Rory, get them off the planet so they could focus on what was happening and work it out. He didn't doubt he and Mac could do it, easily, but he was rather worried for the Ponds and their safety (just as he was for all the rest of his companions).

"The whole planet's in danger," he argued, hurrying down the hall towards their room, "Need to get them to safety!" he burst into the room, quickly covering his eyes when he saw them pop up in bed, whether sleeping or doing other things, he wasn't sure, "Stop everything!" he shouted, just to be safe.

"What's going on?" Rory yawned.

"Doctor!" Amy hissed, "Bedroom!"

"We have a RULE about the bedroom!"

"And when have you ever known him to follow any sort of rule Rory?" Mac sighed as she stepped in after them, "I'm sorry, I tried to stop him but…"

"No one on this planet is safe right now," the Doctor cut in, Mac gesturing to him as though that answered what she was about to say, "We have to solve this before it's too late. Get your clothes on. If we move fast enough we at least stand a chance and…" he trailed off, seeing them looking at him blankly, "You have no idea what I'm talking about do you?"

"No," Amy shook her head, Rory agreeing with a 'no' of his own.

"Oh Helmic Regulator! Again! Too early," he let out a huff and turned to take Mac's hand, leading her back to the door, "Wrong point. As you were!"

"Doctor, you can't just go like that," Amy rolled her eyes, "What's happening? Don't WE need to know?"

"Not at the moment, no," Mac reassured her, "It's one of those tricky foreknowledge issues Amy. We can't tell you too much or risk changing the future for the worse."

"We just popped up in the wrong order, easy mistake to make," the Doctor agreed, "Nohing to alarm you, forget we were ever here. We'll be back soon enough, I would have thought. Everything's FINE. Pretty much. Don't worry about the future," he nodded, backing up towards the door, already sensing that he was starting to ramble now, "The future's really…safe, really, really safe."

"You're not helping Doctor," Mac sighed, seeing the Ponds looking both exasperated and unamused at the same time, "Go," she nodded, "We need to get back to the right versions of you," she turned to nudge the Doctor out.

"Sleep well," he whispered to them, closing the door behind them.

"You know, they probably hate you for doing that to them all the time," Mac gave him a look.

"Force of habit," he took her hand and led her back to the TARDIS. After the Ponds had rejoined them in the TARDIS after Berlin…he'd made a point of randomly popping into their room, trying to keep their shenanigans to a minimum, not wanting to risk another potential time-baby being taken.

**JUNE**

They lost the Ood.

How did they lose the OOD? The thing followed them around like a puppy and yet, somehow, it managed to either walk out of the TARDIS or get lost within…either one was very possible and Mac was starting to regret not insisting they return the Ood when they'd first rescued him, as soon as they'd gotten out of danger. The Doctor seemed to have forgotten half the rooms in the TARDIS, or just didn't use them so much that he didn't realize they were there. He was rather like a child in a candy shop at Christmas with it also being his birthday given how excited he was to explore each and every room.

…and give her a kiss in each one for luck.

But despite all the kisses, they STILL hadn't found the Ood…

**JULY**

The Doctor was sitting in the harness under the console, fiddling with the wires, blackened goggles on his head as he tried to give the appearance of actually working on the TARDIS instead of surreptitiously watching Mac as she worked on making a few backup devices out of her odds and ends that she'd found scattered about. He really was trying to work and keep focused…but Mac was very distracting even when she didn't try to be.

He snapped out of it though when he heard Amy bring up the Ood on the phone as Mac spoke with the Ponds, apparently THEY had found the missing Ood, "Ood!" he shouted, nearly startling Mac as he'd been rather quiet that entire time, "Yes! We were wondering where he'd got to."

"I was afraid he'd wandered out into one of the more dangerous places we stopped at," Mac remarked, "Especially when we didn't find him in the TARDIS."

"Must have wandered off when we popped in the other night," the Doctor nodded, "If it was the other night. You know, we rescued him from the middle of the Androvax Conflict. We were taking him back to the Ood Sphere."

"We'll try to get there as soon as we can," Mac called, "Is he being a large bother?"

"He, um, seems to think that he's out butler," Rory's voice carried over the line.

"That's his conditioning," Mac sighed, standing up and brushing off her skirt, "Ood were born and bred for servitude for quite a while. We must have picked that one up from a point before they were freed."

"Let him do just that," the Doctor shook his head from where his gaze had been lingering on Mac's legs, "We'll come and pick him up tonight. Whenever tonight is…"

Mac looked up as warning bells went off, "What did you do this time Doctor?" she grumbled as she headed for the console.

The Doctor winced, getting a better look at one of the wires he'd accidently cut in staring at Mac, "Got to go!" he called to the ponds, "The power drain's threatening to cause the TARDIS to implode," he quickly rushed after Mac, joining her at the console, giving her a quick peck on the cheek as he hurried to help her, "Oh no that's bad," he flinched at the reading on the monitor, "Why's it doing that? No, no, no, no, no, don't do that!"

"This one's on YOU Doctor," Mac blew her sidebang out of her face, grabbing a lever and using her whole body to push it down, sending them flying off into the Vortex in an effort to stabilize and rejuvenate the TARDIS.

**AUGUST**

Mac laughed to herself as she stood on a ladder that was resting against the side of the TARDIS, glancing down at the Doctor as she changed the bulb. He was at the base of the ladder, a hand over his eyes so he wouldn't see anything as she WAS wearing a dress, and the other holding the ladder itself to help balance her, all the while he had a phone clutched between his ear and shoulder, speaking to Amy and Rory's answer phone.

"Ponds!" he cheered, "Us again. Sorry about the gaps in communications."

"We brought the Ood back to the Ood Sphere," Mac called as she closed the top of the TARDIS and started to climb back down, "And got it all fixed up with the third brain, he won't go wandering off again."

"Helmic Regulator's still not working," the Doctor added, "Got hit by an arrow at Hastings Hill."

"And that was before I had to fly the TARDIS after you while you chased after Lady Godiva," Mac took his hand off his eyes, giving him a playful-scolding look.

"It was chilly!" he defended, "I thought she might like a blanket or a coat or something," he huffed, try and be a gentleman and offer a lady a coat and suddenly everyone's up in arms that he was looking at a woman with not clothes on, "It's not like I saw much on that horse, though 11th century Coventry is quiet lovely."

"You were right behind and then before a naked woman and you're talking about the landscape?" Mac laughed, "Amy's right you really ARE an alien."

"No," he squeezed her hand, "I'm a man in love. Why look at another woman, ANY other woman, clothed or not, when I've got you?' he brushed a hair behind her ear, "I could look at you bundled up like an Eskimo and still think you the most radiant sight I've ever seen."

Mac let out a breath at that, "And…if I were to pull a Lady Godiva then?"

"You'd make my hearts stop…and then I'd be forced to kill all the men who got so much as a glimpse of you, so we should probably avoid that," he laughed.

Mac smiled and gave him a peck, moving to bring the ladder back into the TARDIS, "Don't forget to tell them about the pasta incident."

He nodded, pointing at her as she went in thanks for reminding him, "I think I may have accidently invented pasta," he remarked, thinking back to that event, "Anyway, Kenzie and I popped round but you were out. Which is fine," he looked at Mac as she rejoined him, winding his arm around her waist, "Everything's alright isn't it? With you two?"

"Of course it is," Mac tried to reassure him, tweaking his bowtie, "They're Amy and Rory."

"Yes, yes," he tried to agree, "Just…just worrying unnecessarily. Anyway just call us if you need us, ok? Toodle Pip."

He looked at the phone sadly before he pulled out the sonic and erased the message, "No telling when they'll get the message," he mused, "Which them…shouldn't worry them about something that hasn't happened or reminded them of something that did eh?"

"No," she agreed, giving him a peck before taking his hand and leading him into the TARDIS, though her hearts pinged painfully as well, she hoped everything was alright with their friends too.

A/N: I'm really excited for this series, quite a bit of fluff to come ;)

Also...I've got a bit of an announcement to make that involves the spinoffs. There will be a slight change to their dates as I'll be adding 2 more to my 4 existing ones. Given that I'm doing nearly 2 stories a day for the entire year...I really don't think I can handle doing 6 spinoffs in 1 month (that would be about 1 every 5 days). I'm going to be spacing them out like this:

TAOSAT - 10th of every odd month (May, July, September, November, January, March)  
Recollections - 20th of every odd month  
An Ancient Observer - 30th of every odd month

Impossibly Yours, Captain - 10th of every even month (June, August, October, December, February, April)  
The UNIT Files - 20th of every even month  
Dragon's Fire - 30th of every even month (/February 28th)

The UNIT Files will be a spin off for Mac, that will feature her adventure, cases, and missions in UNIT, along with her dealing with the alien threats to Earth in the background of the Doctor's adventures ;) I'm holding off on this one just because I want to get through all of Mac's story first and that won't end till the end of this month.

Dragon's Fire will be a spin off for my Merlin series that will feature snap shots of the lives of the characters after Series 5 but before the (and yes I'm going to do a) sequel! ^-^ I've put that one last even though Merlin is over as I wanted to keep all the DW ones in order, and start the months on the Lunar Cycle spinoffs ;) The sequel to Merlin will tentatively be up next year just to give me time to flesh out an outline and see where the spinoff goes ;)

This is essentially a tentative schedule. At the moment I can't quite see a spinoff for TL7 or TL5 that would be different than the ones we've already got for the first 4 TLs. I DO have a spinoff in mind for Sherlock (rewriting John's Blog to incorporate Leena), but I'm holding off on adding it to the list or posting it till I have an even number of spinoffs just so the dates don't go all wonky ;) So, while the dates might change if I find an 8th spinoff to do, so far that's the set dates ;)

Even though I'm sad to do it (I really wanted to update each story every single month), I feel like it would be best for time management and future writing to not put too much on my plate and to spread it out more :) I can say though, that I am going to try to get each of the spinoffs updated on Christmas as a gift though no matter when they're due to be updated :)

No real notes from the end of Falling in Love ;)


	2. Follow Your Dreams

Follow Your Dreams

Mac was smiling as she sat beside the Doctor on a small booth in a little restaurant café, "Doctor stop," she laughed, leaning back to avoid the fork he was holding up to her with a bit of chocolate cake on the end of it, "I'm full!"

"Please," he pouted, "Just one more bite?"

"Why do you want ME to eat it?" she shook her head, having to grab his wrist to keep him from moving any closer towards her mouth.

"It's the last bite."

"Yes…and?"

He shrugged, "I want you to have it, it's the very last and it's delicious and I love you so I want you to have it instead of me."

Mac blinked and stared at him, "I don't understand how you make getting me fat sound so sweet," she opened her mouth and let him feed her the last bit of cake.

"It's not getting you fat," he told her sliding closer, moving his arm around her shoulders, "It's being considerate and showing you how much I love you."

"Good," she smiled, "because if you were trying to get me fat, it wouldn't work. Not with all the running we get into."

"Even if it was," he countered, reaching up to touch her cheek, "I'd love every bit of you."

She raised an eyebrow at that, "Seriously?"

"There would be more of you to love," he shrugged.

She smiled lightly at that, she still couldn't believe she'd ever been so cross and bitter against him given how sweet and genuine he was. He was just…remarkable. And she felt so lucky that he was her Chosen, that he was hers.

"There is a woman who wants to meet you," a deep voice said from behind him, but the Doctor didn't even flinch, didn't bother to spare the man he assumed was the waiter a glance as he kept his eyes locked on Mac's.

"That's nice," he waved the man off, "I'm spoken for," he grinned at Mac, LOVING that he could say that now, that he could officially say that she was his Chosen, that he was hers and that no one could try to tear them apart again.

"Your help is required."

Mac sighed and looked up at the 'waiter' only to stiffen and sit up straighter, "Doctor…"

He frowned at her reaction and turned to see a Headless Monk standing at the end of their table. His lips pursed at that and he glanced around, seeing that the others in the café were starting to look over, "I don't discuss my business in public."

"I know," the Monk remarked, waving his hand and suddenly the people were gone.

"How did you do that?" Mac frowned, that was FAR beyond the abilities of the Headless Monks, she knew it from firsthand experience. If they could do that, they wouldn't have needed to replace her daughter with a Flesh avatar in Demons Run.

"Who are you?" the Doctor slid a bit further back in the booth, moving his right arm out to rest on the table, trying to make it seem casual, but really he was trying to block the Monk from Mac, the last time they'd encountered the Monks they'd held her captive and stolen their daughter away, he was NOT about to let the man anywhere near his Chosen.

"A messenger," the Monk stated simply.

"Whose messenger?" Mac asked.

"Darla Von Carlson."

"Never heard of her," the Doctor glared, glancing back at Mac, "I swear, never in my life," he crossed his hearts to reassure her he had no idea what was going on. He turned back to the Monk…only to see that he and Mac were now standing in a dimly lit room, full of disused items, dust and dirt everywhere, "Where's the café?"

"You were never in the café."

"Wonderful," Mac rubbed her head, "It's a dream message," she realized, looking at the Doctor.

He frowned at that, "A psychic projection…" he sighed, "Well I hope we fell asleep somewhere comfy."

"Last I remember," Mac squinted as though trying to think of where they'd been before the café, "We were lying on our bed just…talking."

"Yes," the Doctor pointed at her, he rather liked their 'talking' in bed as it usually happened after another activity.

"Do you recognize where you are?" the Monk cut in.

The Doctor glanced around, Mac watching him intently, not just for the pink flush creeping up his neck when she mentioned the talking, but to see if he'd recognize the place because she had no idea what it was. He seemed to know it though as he nodded, "I remember," he looked at the Monk, "How do you hang up on this thing?"

"You can't."

"Oh yeah?" he scoffed, putting an arm around Mac's waist, "And what if I just wake us up?"

He closed his eyes and focused…

~8~

…opening them to see he and Mac were on the beach, both in their swimming attire, him grinning quite widely as he saw Mac's green bikini…

"Didn't quite work," Mac murmured, "We were in the TARDIS in our room, remember? Not on a beach…"

"The beach isn't real either," the Monk agreed, appearing before them, "You are still dreaming."

~8~

The Doctor grimaced as the world around them shifted once more, gripping Mac's hand as they appeared to be standing in the middle of space, the Monk before them, when a set of glowing symbols and numbers and maps appeared before them.

"Space-time coordinates," the Monk stated, "You will meet Darla Von Carlson here. Her daughter is in danger," the Doctor felt Mac stiffen at that and knew, right then and there, that any chance of arguing against this was gone, not that he would have argued very much to start with information and a threat like that, "And only you can save her. You recognize the planet?" he gestured at the coordinates.

"Yes," the Doctor breathed, squeezing Mac's hand as she let out a small gasp, recognizing it too.

"Say it."

"No."

"Name the planet."

"I will not say that name," the Doctor glared.

"SAY IT!"

"NO!" the Doctor shouted…

~8~

…and jerked awake, waking Mac as well as she rested beside him, in his arms, on their bed, the room dark around them.

Mac let out a breath, it wasn't quite alarming, that they'd had the same dream when clearly it was a message of sorts for the Doctor, often Chosens, once they strengthened their mental connection, the telepathic connection that all Time Lords had to each other, Chosens just being a bit more fine tuned and honed in, they'd share the same dream. In sleep their mental defenses were lower, they'd often see what the other was dreaming or even be a part of it.

She looked at the Doctor though, sharing the dream wasn't what was bothering her, no, it was something else, "Please tell me the planet wasn't what I think it is…"

He swallowed hard, looking at her, "It was Skaro," he confirmed, hesitating before he asked, "Are we…"

"We have to," she nodded, "Darla, whoever she is, if her daughter's in danger, whether it's a trap or not…we have to help."

He took a breath and nodded, expecting that, agreeing with it with both his hearts, "Come on," he tok her hand, the two of them getting out of bed and rushing for the console room.

They had a little girl to save.

A/N: I really wanted to do the AOTD prequel lol :) Just to see what the Doctor was dreaming and show a bit of how their mental connection for Thaery is starting to develop again :)

Some notes on reviews...

I make the covers myself yup :) I just sort of use Paint :) Lol, bit busy yup, but at least it'll keep me writing for a good long while :) I didn't get a chance to read them yet, sorry! :( Things have been a bit hectic with our new puppy (had a little scare the other day, he likes to run ahead of us and toppled over the side of our deck and landed 7 steps down :( He's fine! But his hip's a little bruised so I've had to keep a closer eye on him) and I'm starting to fall behind on responding to PMs again on top of still trying to catch up from the first fall-behind lol.

The UNIT Files might have Bessie ;) I can't say for sure though about that or the others, I'd really have to watch the Classic series first, but, at first, the spinoff will focus more on New-Who as, by then, I figure UNIT's all caught up on the things the past incarnations of the Doctor left behind :) As for the Master AU, he wouldn't go for Angel nope, he knows what it means to be Mates, but he wouldn't try to break them up either, for the same reason ;)


	3. Asylum of the Daleks

Asylum of the Daleks

Mac squeezed the Doctor's hand as they wandered through the halls of a Dalek-like building, well, one of them anyway. Skaro, the homeworld of the Daleks was filled with similar structures. But this one…this one was particular for, even with no other occupants on the planet, the world having been abandoned…there was a human woman there, waiting for them. The Doctor had gotten a mental call for help, a dream message, that she'd picked up on as well, from a woman named Darla, who needed their help because her daughter was in danger. That was ALL that had to be said, that a little girl's life was in danger, for them to come running. Just them on this trip, though the Ponds were, thankfully aware they were alive now. They'd popped in on them for Christmas…only to find out that River had spilled the beans and told the Ponds, whom she still considered her best friends after having grown up with them, that they were in fact alive. Now though, they had little time to think on that as they were on the homeworld of their greatest enemies. It was bitterly ironic that the Daleks, the greatest evil in the Universe still had a planet to return to while their planet was gone.

"First there were the Daleks," they could hear a woman speaking to herself at the end of the hall, "And then there was a man who fought them. And then, in time, he died along with a woman he chose to be his partner in every life. There are a few, of course, who believe this man and woman somehow survived...and that one day they will return. For both our sakes, dearest Hannah, we must hope these stories are true."

"I got your message," the Doctor called, subtlety still not his best virtue as he startled the woman into spinning around, the black cloak she was wearing spinning with her though the hood remained up, yet they could see she had pin straight red hair and pale skin, "Not many people can do that, send me messages."

"I have a daughter," she got right to the point, "Hannah. She's in a Dalek prison camp. They say you can help."

"Do they? I wish they'd stop."

"Why did you pick this of all places?" Mac asked, THAT was what was bothering her the most. If her daughter was in a Dalek camp, being ON Skaro would be pointless. The planet hadn't been populated in years but it was still very heavily guarded and protected by the remaining Daleks, it was a wonder the woman had even been able ot get there alive let alone be walking about with just her cloak to hide her.

"They said I'd have to intrigue you," Darla defended.

"Yes, but Skaro?" Mac shook her head, "I would think that would be the last place you'd ask a Time Lord to meet you."

"Yet you are here," she remarked.

"On the original planet of the Daleks," the Doctor sighed, squeezing Mac's hand not very happy about that, "Look at the state of it," he glanced out the window at the dark and gloomy environment outside, rain pouring down, the planet truly looking utterly abandoned.

"How did you even know to contact us?" Mac looked at the woman intently.

"Does it matter?" she blinked.

"More than you know," Mac nodded, looking at the Doctor in alarm. They'd been trying to perpetuate the myth that they were both still dead and not regenerating any time soon…if this woman knew they were alive…who else knew?

"You're very well informed," the Doctor agreed, tugging the woman's hood down to look at her as well before he turned and took a few steps back, keeping a distance between her and them, "If Hannah's in a Dalek prison camp, tell me, why aren't you?"

"I escaped," she said simply.

"Without your daughter?" Mac scoffed, before shaking her head, "Besides the fact that no one ever escapes a Dalek camp unless the Daleks let them…no mother in her right mind would ever save herself over her child. So you tell us…why are you here? What did the Daleks offer you for 'escaping?'"

"I don't understand," Darla shook her head.

"No?" the Doctor huffed, reaching out to grip her hand, "You're very cold," he dropped her hand a moment later and backed up even farther from her, tugging Mac back behind him…or trying to, she seemed very determined to stay beside him though.

"What's wrong?" Darla tilted her head to the side.

"It's a trap," the Doctor realized.

"What is?"

"You," Mac shook her head at the woman.

Darla merely blinked in confusion…before her expression went blank and a Dalek eyestalk shot out of her forehead. She quickly lifted a hand and fired a blast from her Dalek laser that was sticking out of her hand, knocking them both out, making them easily acquired by the Dalek saucer waiting outside.

~8~

Mac woke slowly with a groan, "Don't tell me I got knocked out AGAIN," she huffed, hearing a small chuckle beside her and opened her eyes to look over at the Doctor as he crouched next to her. This was getting a bit ridiculous, never before had she been knocked out so often! She was starting to fear SHE would have some sort of brain damage like she'd thought the Doctor had after hitting the tree and getting hit with a cricket bat.

"I won't say a word then," he held out a hand to her, tugging her up, catching her as she stumbled…maybe he might have accidently (on purpose) pulled her a bit too hard so he could get her in his arms.

She let out a breath, "Dalek ship?" she guessed, closing her eyes and resting her forehead to his chest, feeling his hearts thumping against her head.

"Unfortunately," he nodded, resting his chin on her head, looking at the two Daleks sitting on the end of the stark white room, guarding a door.

"You will follow," one of the Daleks stated, rolling forward and nudging them on with his laser arm.

"Rude," Mac muttered under her breath as they were forced on, the Doctor keeping a tight hold of her hand as they followed the first Dalek out the door, the other rolling behind them.

"So…" they could hear someone else speaking as they neared another room, both of them tensing as they recognized the voice to be that of Rory Williams, "How much trouble are we in?"

The door before them slid open and their Dalek guide rolled in, "How much trouble, Mr. Pond?" the Doctor called as they entered another stark white room, seeing Rory and Amy standing there, "Out of ten? Eleven."

"I'd say more like 13," Mac countered as the ceiling above them started to open into a circle, the floor raising, taking them up and up and up until they were standing in the middle of a rather large gathering of Daleks, at least one or two of every single make and model that had ever been. Thousands of them were surrounding them on raised platforms. But there was one, a Dalek mutant in a clear case on one end of the room, watching them, a bald man on either side of them, Darla standing between them and the prisoners alongside a ramp that led to the mutant.

"Where are we?" Amy asked, "Spaceship, right?"

"Worse," Mac murmured.

"How's it worse?" Rory frowned.

"This isn't just any spaceship," the Doctor told them, "The Parliament of the Daleks. Be brave."

"What do we do?" Amy looked at them, ready to do whatever she had to, whatever they told her to.

"Make them remember you," he whispered, turning to Mac and touching her cheek before he kissed her hand and stepped away from her, knowing the Daleks would recognize him more than her, that they'd be more intimidated by him, listen to him, and…target him. As long as they targeted him and it kept Mac safe, he was content, "Well come on then. You've got me! What are you waiting for? At long last, it's Christmas!" he threw out his arms, "Here I am!" and closed his eyes waiting, knowing that behind him Rory had taken Mac's hand both to comfort her and hold her back from stopping him.

"Save us," the mutant Dalek cried out, "You will save us."

"I'll what?" the Doctor asked, cracking his eye open and dropping his arm.

"You will save the Daleks."

"Save the Daleks!" all the Daleks around them began to chant the same, "Save the Daleks! Save the Daleks! Save the Daleks! Save the Daleks! Save the Daleks!"

"Wasn't quite expecting that were you?" Mac mused, breathing a sigh of relief and moving over to the Doctor, hugging him tightly, "Do that to me again and you'll wish you were dealing with the Daleks instead."

He let out a soft breath, a slight laugh, and hugged her back.

~8~

Mac was standing with her back to the mutant Dalek, watching the Doctor pace back and forth before her, yet he was remaining close enough here he could keep a grip on her hand as he did so. It was amusing her how he was pacing, he'd pace and switch hands, walking as far from her as her arm would allow before he turned back and paced the other way, switching to grab her other hand and repeating. It was probably unnecessary and required a lot of switching off and grabbing that he could likely do without, but it was amusing to her to see that he wanted that physical contact even as he was moving about.

It seemed even the Daleks were focused on watching him, their eyestalks swiveling with each pass, much like the humans were watching him too. She could see Amy and Rory talking quietly, but they were too far away from her to hear them. She could tell though that something was wrong with them, something was off about them, just from looking. For one, Amy had her arms crossed and seemed irritated by Rory, they were standing too far away from each other, and Rory appeared to have an air of anger and hurt to him given how stiff his stance was especially when he looked at Amy.

"Doctor," Mac began, "I understand you're panicking right now," she eyed him as he continued to pace, seeing in his mind that he was counting the exits and the Daleks and calculating how far apart the Ponds were standing, "But I AM going to need my hands back eventually."

"We have arrived," one of the Daleks, a white one that looked like the newly created ones that had arisen when they'd visited Winston Churchill, called.

"And that eventually would be now," she added.

He sighed, but stopped pacing, letting go of her hands, knowing that , in a situation like this, her hands would be useful in needing to get to both her pockets for whatever she might have hidden in there to help them. He glanced over at the White Dalek, "Arrived where?"

"Doctor..." the mutated Dalek called from inside its case.

Darla blinked and turned to him, "The Prime Minister will speak with you now."

The Doctor reached out once more and took Mac's hand, making it clear to the Daleks she was coming with him to face the mutant, the Prime Minister apparently, and led her up the ramp towards it, only for her to stop before Darla.

"I have to ask," Mac eyed the woman, "Do you remember anything at all about your life before you were…this?" she gestured at the eyestalk still sticking out of the woman's head.

"My memories are only reactivated if they are required to facilitate deep cover or disguise," Darla remarked.

Mac shook her head, "So you've no idea you had a daughter."

"I do," Darla nodded, seeming too nonchalant about it for them to feel comfortable, to know she had a daughter, to know she was in a prison camp and likely dead…and yet to obviously feel nothing about it, "I've read my file."

The Doctor squeezed Mac's hand and tugged her on, the two of them coming to stand before the Minister, "Well?" the Doctor got right to the point.

"What do you know of the Dalek Asylum?" the Minister asked.

The Doctor frowned at that, "According to legend, you have a dumping ground. A planet where you lock up all the Daleks that go wrong. The battle-scarred, the insane. The ones even you can't control. Which never made any sense to me..."

"Why not?"

Mac scoffed, "Wouldn't you have just killed them if they were that dangerous to you?"

"It is offensive to us to extinguish such divine hatred," the Minister stated, sounding almost…thoughtful as he spoke of the hatred the insane Daleks possessed.

"Offensive?" the Doctor shook his head at that.

"Does it surprise you to know the Daleks have a concept of beauty?"

The Doctor slowly leaned forward to eye the Dalek in its single eye, "I thought you'd run out of ways to make me sick, but hello again. You think hatred is beautiful?"

Mac squeezed his hand and tugged him back, starting to back him away from the Minister, sensing him getting more irate and disgusted and that was never a good thing for him.

"Perhaps that is why we have never been able to kill you."

"Don't," Mac whispered to the Doctor, "Don't rise to their bait," she warned, but they both spun to the side when they heard a mechanical whirring and saw the floor by Amy and Rory was opening up in a similar circular pattern that the ceiling had earlier. They hurried over, reaching out to tug them further back, away from the floor even as it stopped, and glanced down to see a white planet, the Asylum, below them.

"The Asylum," Darla stepped over to them, "It occupies the entire planet. Right to the core."

"And just how many Daleks are down there?" Mac frowned.

"A count has not been made. Millions, certainly."

"All still alive?" the Doctor shifted closer to Mac at that thought, millions of insane Daleks…wonderful.

"It has to be assumed. The Asylum is fully automated, supervision is not required."

"Armed?" Amy guessed.

"The Daleks are always armed."

"What color?" Rory asked out of the blue, making them all look at him, "Sorry," he shrugged, "There weren't any good questions left."

"This signal is being received from the very heart of the Asylum," Darla moved over to a control panel and flicked it on, allowing La Habanera from Carmen to play over the speakers.

The Doctor, of course, beamed at the sound and began to sway, making a motion with his hands as though he were hitting a triangle.

"What is the noise?" the White Dalek demanded, "Explain! Explain!"

"It's me!" the Doctor cheered.

Rory blinked at that, "Sorry what?!"

"He was playing the triangle when that was recorded," Mac sighed, "He got away from me and snuck in, by the time I found him they'd already finished the piece."

"Carmen," he smiled, taking her hand, "Lovely show. One of our many dates, seeing the first ever performance," he winked at her. Even though they had declared themselves Chosens and truly felt it in their hearts now, well…they'd had quite a few years together without the Ponds and, without running away from the Silence or investigating them, and with the universe thinking them dead, they had ample time to just…be themselves and be together. They'd gone on quite a few dates as a result.

"Well," Mac blushed, clearing her throat and heading over to the controls, "If someone's transmitting the song you can just track back the signal…" she trailed off, seeing the Daleks all appeared to be staring at her as though the hadn't thought to do that…if she could see their expressions however. She shook her head and put in a few commands before calling out, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

"…hello?" came the tentative reply a few moments later from a young woman.

"Come in, come in, come in, Carmen," the Doctor rushed over to help.

"Hello, yes, yes, sorry, do you read me?!"

"Yes, reading you loud and clear. Identify yourself and report your status."

"Are you alright?" Mac asked her, "Are you hurt? Where are you broadcasting from?"

But the young woman seemed too much in shock at that, "Hello! Are you real? Are you actually, properly real?"

"Real as they come," Mac smiled as the Doctor chuckled.

"Right," the girl called, "Oswin Oswald, Junior Entertainment Manager, Starship Alaska. Current status…crashed and shipwrecked somewhere... not nice. Been here a year, rest of the crew missing. Provisions good, but keen to move on."

The Doctor blinked at that, startled, "A year? Are you ok? Are you...under attack?"

"Some local life-forms, I've been keeping them out."

"What sort of life forms?" Mac asked, a pit forming in her stomach.

"I know a Dalek when I hear one, yeah."

"You're broadcasting from INSIDE the Asylum?!" Mac's eyes widened, looking at the Doctor in shock.

"What have been doing, on your own, against the Daleks for a year?!" he agreed with her alarm, for anyone, especially a human to survive that…it was nearly impossible!

"Making soufflés?" the girl offered.

"Soufflés?!" he gaped, "Against the Daleks? Where do you get the milk?"

"This conversation is irrelevant," the White Dalek cut in, turning to the controls and waving its sucker arm at it.

"No, don't!" Mac cried as it disrupted the signal, cutting off their connection to the girl, turning the transmission to static, "It was entirely relevant!"

"Because a Starliner's crashed into your Asylum," the Doctor nodded, "And someone's got in. And if someone can get in, then everything can get out... a tsunami of insane Daleks. Even you don't want that."

"The Asylum must be cleansed," the White Dalek agreed.

"Then why is it still here? You've got enough firepower on this ship, to blast it out of the sky."

"The Asylum force-field is impenetrable," Darla stated.

"So turn it off then," Mac shook her head, not seeing the problem.

"It can only be turned off from within the Asylum."

"Well that's smart," she muttered, it was the most ridiculous thing ever. If the Daleks down there worked out how to do it, the ship should have had SOME way to turn it back on!

"A small task force could sneak through a force-field," the Doctor argued, "Send in a couple of Daleks and…" he stopped suddenly, realization hitting him, "Oh," he started to laugh, "Oh, that's good. That's brilliant. You're all too scared to go down there! Not one of you will go! So tell me, what do the Daleks do when they're too scared?"

"The Predator of the Daleks will be deployed," the White Dalek declared.

"What Predator?" Mac scoffed, "There's no such thing."

"And even if there was," the Doctor nodded, "Why would they turn off a force-field for you?"

"How else will you rescue your Chosen?" the Minister called, the sound of him starting to speak pulling the Doctor's attention to it, but his words made him spin back, just as Mac let out a shout, one of the male Dalek puppets had snuck up behind her and grabbed her arm, pulling her back towards the hole in the floor.

"Kenzie!" the Doctor lunged for her, but two other Daleks rolled into his path, blocking it, their laser arms pointed at him as the puppet tugged Mac closer and closer to the edge, "Let her go!" he spun to face the Minister, "Why would you send either of us down there!?"

"The Predator is the Daleks' word for you," Darla told him.

"Me?" he scoffed, "Me?!"

"You will need this," Darla stepped over to him, not seeming perturbed at how he was glaring at her, simply grabbing his wrist, "It will protect you from the Nano-cloud," she looked over as the second male puppet slipped the a wrist band with a blue light on it onto the Ponds' wrists much like she had the Doctor and the first male puppet did Mac.

"What nano-cloud?" Mac frowned, struggling in the male puppet's grasp but it was like iron, clearly they added some sort of other enhancements to the puppets to make them suitable and stronger.

Darla didn't answer, merely pressed a button on a control on her wrist and a white, swirling light shot up from the hole, "The gravity beam will convey you close to the source of the transmission. You must find a way to deactivate the force-field from there."

"You're going to fire my Chosen at a planet and you just expect me to help you!?" the Doctor nearly spat at that, "You should consider yourselves lucky I don't destroy you lot right now!"

"Hold on, why did you give THEM wrist bands too?!" Mac shook her head, more focused on the fact that Amy and Rory had been given the protective bands as well, if it was HER being fired at a planet…well, she wouldn't like it, but she'd rather it be her in danger than the humans.

"It is known that the Doctor requires companions to aid his missions," the White Dalek remarked.

"Oh, brilliant," Rory groaned, "Good."

The Doctor's jaw tensed at that and he turned to look at Mac, "We'll be ok," he promised her.

"I know," she nodded, smiling lightly, "We'll get through this and we'll find a way out."

"Bet your life?" he asked.

"Always," she winked…only to be pushed into the beam a moment later.

"No!" he rushed after her, jumping right into the beam just as the Ponds were pushed in as well, the four of them falling towards the planet, "Kenzie!" he reached for her, but she was too far ahead, and then he noticed…the beam was splitting, "No!" he cried seeing her getting sucked to the left and him to the right…a flash of red joining him as he lost sight of Rory too as they all crashed into the planet below…

~8~

"Mackenzie?" a voice called as Mac slowly stirred on the ground.

She froze, recognizing two things, the first was that the voice belong to Rory and he was gently shaking her, and the second…she'd been knocked out. Again.

"I'm getting REALLY tired of this," she muttered, blinking her eyes open.

"Of what?" Rory blinked at her.

"Getting knocked out," she sighed, pushing herself to sit up, "I'm starting to fear for my brain more than the Doctor's."

Rory let out a small chuckle at that, before sobering, "Do you know where we are?" he asked her, "Or where the others are?"

Mac looked around, seeing that they'd fallen into what appeared to be a hallway, unmoving Daleks scattered around it. She almost felt alarmed to see them, before she realized they were covered in a thick layer of dust and hadn't moved in ages. They were likely either dead or out of power, which was fine with her, she hated Daleks, "Somewhere in the Asylum," she guessed the obvious, "But no, I don't know where the others are, something about this," she held up her wrist with the band on it, "Is blocking my mental calls to the Doctor. Whatever the nano-cloud is that Darla was talking about, it probably affects the mind as well."

"Great," Rory sighed.

"Come on," she pushed herself up, "We can try to get to some sort of surveillance room or the force field control room. If we find that, eventually the Doctor and Amy will make it there too."

"You think they're together?" Rory hoped, pulling out a small penlight just as Mac did the same.

"We are," she shrugged, "We both fell one way, the Doctor and Amy another, stands to reason they landed close to each other like we did."

"I hope so," he murmured, glancing up through a shaft that they'd fallen through.

Mac started walking, glancing at Rory as they went, "So…care to share what's happened with you and Amy?"

"Just…life," he shrugged this time.

"Life…" she nodded slowly, "And divorce?"

"How do you know…" he began before he saw her nod at his pocket where the papers he'd gone to have Amy sign were sticking out. He folded them quickly and shoved them back into his pocket so they wouldn't stick out, "Yeah."

"Well, I'm sorry then," she offered, "That it's reached that point."

Rory started to nod, but stopped and blinked at her, "That's it?"

"What's it?" she glanced t him.

"You're not going to…I dunno, try to fix it?"

"Fix it how?"

"Tell me how I'm making a mistake and to talk to Amy and to try counseling and not to give up and…"

"I wished for divorce in my first marriage Rory," she cut in gently, "But the only way to break that contract was either to off myself or kill my husband," she shook her head, "Divorce is serious and I've seen how devoted you are to Amy, you would have tried everything you could think of to make it work before reaching this point. If YOU feel divorce is what's best for you and Amy…than that is YOUR choice and that is what YOU need to do. I won't try to talk you into staying in a marriage that makes you miserable. Believe me, I've been trapped in one with no way out. I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

Rory was silent a moment, "It's not."

"Not what?"

"It's not a marriage that makes me miserable."

"Then what's happened?" she looked at him, stopping in the middle of a hall, "What's changed that's driving you to this?"

Rory swallowed and sighed, "Amy doesn't think I know, but…" he hesitated, "She's been trying to push me away, make me miserable, so that I'll divorce her. I thought, at first, that's what she wanted, SHE wanted the divorce but didn't want to hurt me by demanding one. And then I realized…if she was worried about hurting me, she couldn't have WANTED one."

"Then what was it?"

"She won't have children," he told her, "And I…I REALLY want children. Amy's refusing. She tried to make me think that Kovarian did something to…to River in Amy's womb that I dunno, made her unable to have kids, but I work in the hospital and she's my wife so I had access to the test results. Everything's fine," he added quickly, seeing tears in Mac's eyes and knowing she would have felt infinitely guilty for having subjected Amy to the same fate as she had been because of her child, even if it had been Kovarian that had taken Amy as a surrogate.

"She's ok?" Mac had to ask to be sure. She knew that, had Amy and Rory conceived a child in the TARDIS in flight through the Vortex, that initial aspect of the conception would have damaged Amy's womb, like a magnified radiation, her womb would have soaked all that up to help the child survive as it would have been the tiniest part Time Lord. THAT would have damaged Amy, even more if Kovarian tried to flood her system with temporal energies while the baby grew, to try and make it more Time Lord. But it wasn't Amy's child, it wasn't part Time Lord, it was a full-blooded Time Lord, there was no need for more radiation to sustain it or convert it, it just…grew normally inside Amy. She had run scans on Amy herself after they got to the TARDIS, to insure she was ok, and she was fine, nothing damaged at all, thankfully.

"She's fine," Rory promised, "Then she tried to make me think it was her modeling job, that she doesn't want to lose her figure and I said I'd wait. So she started lying, saying she didn't want kids ever…"

"How do you know she was lying?"

"Because River came to visit and I overheard them talking," he sighed, rubbing his face, knowing it was wrong to listen in, but…he'd been so worried. He and Amy had actually talked of having children when they'd been engaged, she wanted siblings, he wanted siblings, they wanted children in the plural.

"What did she say?"

"It's the travelling," he told her quietly, "What you warned us about having a child in the TARDIS or her being pregnant with one and still travelling. She doesn't want that to happen, but she doesn't want to give you and the Doctor up. She refuses to get pregnant so she can keep travelling and…" he swallowed hard, "She…she doesn't want to get pregnant till…till YOU are out of her life. Not…not in that way," he added quickly, "She wants you and the Doctor around forever, it's just…she…" he sighed, "She doesn't want you to feel bad that…that she can have a child and you can't."

"I've come to terms with that a LONG time ago Rory," Mac shook her head, "If Amy fell pregnant, no, she wouldn't be able to travel with us, but that doesn't mean we couldn't pop in to see you, or take you on an adventure after the birth with a proper babysitter in place, not that I think you'd want to leave the baby after you've had it," she smiled at the thought. And that was just it wasn't it, pregnancy, to Amy, meant the end of travelling period. The moment she was pregnant, no more TARDIS, and after she had that baby in her arms she wouldn't want to leave it, not for anything, not even adventures, and she wasn't ready to give that up.

"The travelling, it's great," Rory continued, "But it's always been more Amy's thing than mine. I'd be fine giving it up. Amy wouldn't. She's not ready to yet and…I don't know if she ever will be."

"And you want children," Mac worked it out.

"Yeah."

At the moment, Amy didn't ever see herself giving up the travels, she was quite a bit like the files she'd read on Mickey Smith, the boy had a hard time moving on with his life as he was constantly waiting for Rose to come back. Amy was constantly waiting for THEM to come back. And if she was always waiting, she'd never want to risk missing an adventure and that would mean no children.

"She's trying to give you up," Mac told him, "So you can be with someone that'll give you children."

"I know," he nodded, and he couldn't even tell Amy that or admit he'd listened in and eavesdropped and that…that he was still going through with the divorce despite what he knew, "If…if this is what she needs and wants to be happy…" he swallowed hard, "Then…then I should be willing to give her up too, shouldn't I? Let her have her adventures and not feel guilty for going on them if it means no children for me?"

Mac let out a long breath, "I can't tell you Rory. But…I DO think you and Amy need to talk about it, really talk about children and if she tries to shut you down or shut you out…let her know that while she's trying to give you up to have children, you're doing the same so she can have adventures. And then…remind her that the greatest adventure in the Universe is becoming a parent."

Rory was silent at that, he knew in his heart he should have done that, that he should do that, he was just…worried.

"And if it helps…the Doctor and I can promise to not come see you again," Mac offered, though he could hear a tremor in her voice, "No more adventures, no more of Amelia waiting in the dark for us to show up. Just let us know so we can properly say goodbye this time, so you know you won't have to wait up for us."

"You…you'd do that?" Rory stared at her in shock.

"If it means allowing you and Amy to have your lives back and time to get them built, then yes," she nodded, "I know how hard it is for the Doctor's companions to adjust to life back on Earth when they're just dropped off and expected to pick up where they left off, I've read their files, I've spoken with them. The Doctor…he thought that it would help you adapt easier, to wean you off us so to speak. See you little by little till we just…fade away, but if it's easier for you to do it like a bandaid and just stop in one go, we will."

Rory let out a breath, "But I'd miss you."

She smiled at that and stepped over to him, hugging him, "We'd miss you too, but we care about you both. Whatever you need us to do to make your lives easier, Rory…just tell us and we'll do it."

Rory nodded, hugging her tightly, honestly…not sure what he'd say. Because despite all he'd just told her, he…he wasn't sure he was ready to give them up either, not the adventures, no that was Amy, but…the people they shared them with.

~8~

Mac led the way through the Asylum corridors, cautious as ever, Rory content to stay behind her despite the fact he felt he should be ahead of her and protecting her. He understood though, of the two of them, Mac had the experience actually being at war against the Daleks however brief it was before she'd been sent to the weapons factories. She'd grabbed a long piece of metal that was on the ground and handed it to him, taking another scrap of metal for herself as she moved on, telling him to aim for the eyestalk if he had to defend himself. The Daleks down there didn't seem to have much firepower, they might get lucky enough or close enough to do damage that way, but she didn't want to take the chance.

They slowly entered a rather large room that was filled with more Daleks, though Mac frowned, seeing that the dust that covered them wasn't quite as thick as with the others. She jerked back when she nearly ran into a spider's web, gasping, and ending up hitting a metal bar on the ground with a clang, sending the noise echoing around the room. She HATED spiders!

"Um…Mac…" Rory began, swallowing hard.

She looked over, feeling the breath leave her when she saw the Daleks around them starting to light up, their eyestalks beginning to move, their sucker arms twitching.

"Ee-ee-ee-eex..." one tried to speak.

"What?" Rory frowned.

"Rory don't talk to the Daleks!" Mac hissed at him warningly.

"Eggzz, eggzz, eggzz, eggzz, eggzz…"

"Eggs?" he looked at her, "Do they mean those things?" he pointed at the small round baubles that were scattered on the ground from the front of the Dalek's casing.

"Egggzzzzzzzz…"

"No," Mac grabbed his arm and tugged him, back, "Not at all…get ready to run…"

"Eggggzzz... term... in... ate!" the Dalek managed to shout, all the others following along, "Eggzz... term... in... ate!"

"Run!" Mac turned to push Rory on.

"Ex... term... in... ate!" the Daleks began to fire at them as they ducked and ran for cover, "Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!"

Mac turned and threw a small cloth ball at the Daleks, one immediately firing at what they thought was a weapon, sending a burst of dust into the air, cloaking them as they rushed away.

"The door at the end, run for it!" they could hear the girl who had come over the transmission in the Parliament speaking, "They're waking up but they're slow. The door at the end, just run. Now, now, now!"

"There!" Mac pointed, pushing Rory towards a small door on the floor that was opening, sending him sliding under it as she quickly crawled in after him, the door snapping shut just as the air began to clear in the room behind them, sealing them off from the Daleks.

"So anyway," the girl continued to speak easily, "I'm Oswin. What do I call you?"

"Er...I can't even remember," Rory panted.

Mac patted his shoulder, "He's Rory."

"Lovely name, Rory," Oswin laughed, "First boy I ever fancied was called Rory."

"OK..."

"Was he?" Mac asked for conversation.

"Actually, she was called Nina, I was going through a phase. Just flirting to keep you cheerful."

"I'm…" Mac began to introduce herself as well.

"Oh I know who you are red," Oswin laughed again, "Chinny wouldn't stop talking about you and asking about you. You're his little Kenzie aren't you?"

"Call her Mac," Rory groaned, "Last time I called her Kenzie the Doctor nearly turned into the Oncoming Storm."

"Alright right then, though I prefer 'Red' instead," Oswin remarked.

Mac smiled and looked over, seeing another corridor, "Come on Rory, up you get, we need to keep moving."

"Why?" he pouted.

"Because that's just a wall and a door," Mac pointed behind them, "And I've seen Daleks break through more than that, we can't stay here."

"She's right," Oswin agreed, "There's no Daleks down that path though, you should be safe."

"And the Doctor?" Mac glanced up, seeing a Dalek eyestalk sticking out of the wall, possibly a camera that Oswin was looking at them through. She could guess that 'Chinny' was the Doctor, he did have a rather large chin.

"I'll take a peek in on him," Oswin offered.

"Thanks," Mac smiled, taking Rory's arm and leading him down the hall.

~8~

Mac and Rory looked over when they felt an enormous shockwave. They were currently standing in a teleport room, Oswin had led them there only a short while ago and Mac had gotten right to examining the teleport pad set up in the middle of the room. Now though, they were both distracted by the blast they could hear going off in the room beside their own.

"What was that?" Rory frowned, "That was close."

"Come on," Mac hurried over, entering the rather large room to see that there were broken bits of Dalek everywhere, all of the ones that had been in the room were destroyed, they were smoking and burning and there were wires exposed everywhere crackling with energy.

"What happened?! Who killed all the Daleks?"

"You REALLY have to ask?" Mac scoffed, looking through the dust to see the Doctor heading for them, Amy unconscious in his arms.

"Amy!" Rory ran for her, quickly taking the woman from the Doctor's arms and rushing her back to the safety of the teleport room.

"Kenzie!" the Doctor hurried right for Mac, hugging her tightly, before kissing her and hugging her again, "You're ok. Souffle girl said you were but I just…"

"Wanted to make sure," she nodded, hugging him tightly, breathing a sigh of relief that he was alright as well, "I was worried about you."

"Not more than I was worried about you," he countered, pulling away, touching her cheek, letting his thumb stroke it, "We need to stop doing that."

"Doing what?" she shook her head.

"Splitting up. From now on, no splitting up."

"Bit hard to do with 2 companions Doctor," she laughed.

He looked at her seriously though, "Then…next time, it's just 1."

She blinked searching his eyes, "Amy told you about the divorce, didn't she?"

He nodded, "I…I told her we'd stay away, if that would help them."

"I said the same to Rory," she took a breath, "We just have to wait and see what they decide then."

"Would…would it be terrible to admit I would be…ok with them wanting us to stay away?" he asked her quietly, "So that…that we could move on as well?" this was why he often left his companions on Earth and tried to stay away it was so hard to see them and leave after a visit, it was really easier for him to just…run and not look back, but he knew that, sometimes it was easier for them to be weaned off of him. This was his first real attempt at that…it wasn't working well, "That way…we could have just one companion and I could have you with me all the time?"

Mac smiled softly at that, "No," she told him, "I'm starting to understand why you would drop your companions off and leave them to adapt. It's…disruptive, to keep coming back, isn't it?"

"And…I'd rather like a few more dates with you," he winked at her, "I rather like us having the TARDIS all to ourselves…"

"Um, sorry to break up the moment," Oswin's voice called just as he leaned in to kiss Mac, "But Scotty out there's slowly converting to a Dalek puppet, shouldn't we be focusing on that?"

"Right yes," the Doctor sighed, taking Mac's hand and leading her over to the room Rory disappeared through, "One of the other puppets took Amy's wrist device," he explained quickly, "The conversion process has already started."

"Will sleeping help her?" Rory asked, catching that, looking down at Amy as she rested on the teleport pad where he'd set her down, "Slow down the process?"

"You'd better hope so," Oswin called, "Because pretty soon, she's going to try and kill you."

"Amy?" Rory knelt down as she slowly started to come around.

"Ow…" Amy groaned.

"Amy, you're still with us," the Doctor patted her hand as Mac and him crouched beside her.

"Amy, it's me, do you remember me?" Rory whispered…and she slapped him without even opening her eyes, "She remembers me."

"Play nice Amelia," Mac laughed.

"Do you know how you make someone into a Dalek?" Oswin mused, "Subtract love, add anger. Doesn't she seem a bit too angry to you?"

"Well!" Amy huffed, "Somebody's never been to Scotland."

"What about you though, Oswin?" the Doctor asked, "How come you're OK? Why hasn't the nano-cloud converted you?"

"I mentioned the genius thing, yeah?" Oswin asked as Mac looked at the Doctor in confusion, he just shook his head that he'd tell her later, "I'm shielded in here."

"Clever of you. Now this place, the Daleks said it was fully automated. But look at it, it's a wreck."

" Well, I've had nearly a year to mess with them and not a lot else to do."

"Hold on," Mac blinked, "YOU did all this? A junior entertainment manager managed to hack into the security systems of the Daleks?"

"I was bored."

Mac could almost hear the shrug in Oswin's voice.

"You know what really gets me about you, Oswin?" the Doctor called, "The soufflés! Where do you get the milk for the soufflés? Seriously, is no one else wondering about that?" he looked at the three before him.

"No," Rory said plainly, "Frankly, no. Twice."

"Kenzie?"

"It IS odd," Mac nodded, shifting as she glanced at the Dalek eyestalk camera above them, this whole thing wasn't sitting right with her.

"So, Doctor, I've been looking you up. You're all over the Database. There's not much about you though Red, but the Doctor. Blimey. Why do the Daleks call you the Predator?"

I'm not a predator, just a man with a plan," the Doctor grinned, "And the most wonderful Chosen in the Universe!" he winked at Mac.

"A man with a thing," Mac corrected, poking him in the side though she was blushing at what he'd said.

"We're all ears," Rory called.

"There's a nose joke going, if anyone wants to pick that one off!" Amy huffed.

"Well," the Doctor clapped his hands, "In no particular order, we need to neutralize all the Daleks in this asylum, rescue Oswin from the wreckage, escape from this planet, and fix Rory and Amy's marriage..."

"Ok," Amy sighed, "I'm counting three lost causes, anyone else?"

"Oh Amelia," Mac shook her head as Rory slapped his knee and walked a few feet away, frustrated, "Believe me sweetie, communication," she glanced at the Doctor, "The most essential thing to any relationship, ever," if she had just listened and talked to him about even a fraction of the things she'd been angry with him about they would never have ended up as at odds as they had been.

"Oswin, there's a Dalek ship in orbit," the Doctor got them back on topic.

"Yeah, got it on the sensors," Oswin agreed.

"The Asylum has a force field. The Daleks upstairs are waiting for me to turn it off. Soon as I do, they'll burn this world and us with it. So, Oswin, my question is this. How fast can you drop the force field?"

"Pretty fast. But why would I?"

"Because of the teleport," Mac nodded at it, already having worked it out, "Originally set for internal use, but I tweaked it while we were waiting. We just need the force field down and we can teleport right off the planet."

"But when the force field is down, the Daleks will blow us up," Rory countered.

"We have to be quick then," the Doctor shrugged.

"Fine, we'll be quick, but where do we beam to?" Amy asked.

"The only place within range. The Dalek ship."

"Where they exterminate us on the spot."

"This is the kind of escape plan where you survive four seconds longer?" Rory sighed.

"What's wrong with four seconds?" the Doctor shook his head, "You can do lots in four seconds. Like so, Kenzie," he turned to her, taking her hands, "I love you with all of my hearts. See?" he smiled at the Ponds, "4 seconds can be wonderful for telling those dear to you what you really feel for them."

"The teleports set for the TARDIS," Mac reassured them, giving the doctor a peck on the cheek for his 4-second confession, "It's perfectly safe."

"Oswin," the Doctor glanced at the eyestalk, "How fast can you drop the force field?"

"I can do it from here," Oswin answered, "As soon as you come and get me."

"No, just drop the force field and come to us."

"There's enough power in that teleport for one go. Why would you wait for me?"

"Why wouldn't we?"

"No idea, never met you. Sending you a map so you can come get me."

"You should have known that wouldn't work Doctor," Mac remarked as she headed to a screen to look at the map, "There are Daleks everywhere and you expect a human to just waltz right through all of that?"

"Ok," the Doctor sighed, knowing they didn't have a choice in going to get Oswin, though he and Mac were a bit more hesitant to do it, both having a suspicion of what they'd find, "Soon as the force field is down, the Daleks will attack. If it gets too explodey-wodey in here, you go without us, ok?"

"Here," Mac handed Rory the teleport control, "Just one push and anyone on the pad will be transported to the TARDIS."

"But…that means leaving you to die," Rory frowned.

"We'll be ok," Mac tried to reassure him, "Once the field is down the emergency protocols will kick in and the TARDIS will come to the Doctor."

"What about Amy?"

"Keep her remembering, keep her focused," the Doctor told him, "That'll hold back the conversion."

"What do I do?" Amy looked up at them, a little nervous.

"You heard what she said. They're subtracting love. Don't let them," he gave the Ponds a wink before taking Mac's hand.

"Just…focus on the thing you love the most Amelia," Mac offered, glancing from Amy to Rory before she turned to leave with the Doctor, the two of them walking through the halls, trying to ignore the shouts of the Daleks in the distance.

~8~

"Oswin?" the Doctor called out in a gentle whisper as he squeezed Mac's hand tighter, the two of them heading down the corridor, spotting a few items that the map signified they were nearing their destination, "I think we're close."

"You are," Oswin confirmed, "Less than 20 feet away. Which is the good news..."

"And the bad is?" Mac frowned.

"You're about to pass through intensive care," she warned and a door opened before them, allowing the Time Lords to enter the room. It was as old and disused as the others, but with individual cells, like stalls, that had some of the Daleks within chained in place.

"And what's intensive care then?"

"Dunno. Survivors of particular wars. Spiridon. Kembel. Aridius. Vulcan. Exxilon. Ringing any bells?"

"All of them," the Doctor let out a breath, Mac squeezing his hand back.

"Yeah? How?"

"These are the Daleks who survived me."

"We should hurry," Mac whispered, "Before they…"

"Doc... tor..." one started to wake up.

"Wake up," Mac sighed, rubbing her head, "Wonderful."

"Doc... tor... Doc... tor... Doctor!"

"That's weird," Oswin remarked, "Those ones don't usually wake up for anything."

"Yeah, well, special visitors," the Doctor mused, slowly trying to back up towards the only other closed door, hoping that the chains would be enough to keep the Daleks back, "Ok," he tried to open the door, "Door, but it won't open," and then tried the sonic, "Still won't open. You can't be far away though..."

"Hang on, not quite sure, there's a release code, let me, let me just... Anything happening out there?"

"Just the Daleks getting more riled up," Mac swallowed.

"Hang on, I'm trying a thing…"

"Oswin…best hurry," Mac tensed, seeing the Daleks starting to break free of their bonds.

"Doc... tor... Doc... tor... Doc... tor…"

"Oswin, get this door open!" the Doctor started shouting as the Daleks advanced, "Oswin open this door!"

"I can't!" she gasped.

"Oswin!" he pushed Mac behind him, "PLEASE, GET THIS DOOR OPEN! HELP US!"

"Doc... tor... Doc... tor..."

Mac held her breath, squeezing the Doctor's hand like it was a lifeline, the Daleks inches away from them both…when they stopped and merely turned around, gliding back to their stalls.

"Oh, that is cool," Oswin breathed, "Tell me I'm cool, chin boy. What do you think of that Red?"

"Oswin…" Mac frowned, moving out from behind the Doctor, "What did you do?"

"Hang on, I think I've found the door thingie..."

"No," the Doctor shook his head, "Tell us what you did!"

"The Daleks, they have a hive mind. Well they don't, but they have a telepathic web."

"The Path Web," they both said at the same time.

"I hacked into it. Did a master delete on all the information connected with the Doctor. Even got rid of a few things about Red too."

The Doctor blinked, "You made them forget me?"

"Good, eh? And here comes the door!"

They both tensed as they heard the door slide up behind them, but couldn't bring themselves to look back at it, to look into the next room, fearing that their worst thoughts would be founded, "But it shouldn't be possible to hack the Path Web," Mac whispered.

"Come and meet the girl who can," Oswin cheered, making them flinch at the sound of her, the horrible metallic sound of her voice, and they slowly turned, staring into the room in shock and horror, "Hey! You're right outside, come on in."

The Doctor and Mac glanced at each other and then to the lone Dalek chained up in the middle of the white-honeycombed room, "Oswin... we have a problem..." the Doctor began.

"No, we don't! Don't even say that. Joined the Alaska to see the universe, ended up stuck in a shipwreck, first time out. How fair is that Red? So come on, rescue me, chin boy, and show me the stars."

"Oswin…sweetie…" Mac began slowly, "Where you are right now…does it look real?"

"It IS real.'

"I'm not sure it is," Mac whispered, "If you look close Oswin, really LOOK…it's not real. It's just…it's a dream."

"You dreamed it for yourself, because the truth was too terrible," the Doctor agreed.

Oswin was silent, the Dalek was silent, for a long while, before the faintest of questions came to them, "Where am I? Where... am... I? Where... am... I?"

"I'm so sorry Oswin…but the shielding didn't protect you," Mac told her, "The conversion…it happened, but on much worse a scale. You're not a puppet…you're a Dalek."

"I am not a Dalek!" the Dalek before them insisted, "I am NOT a Dalek! I'm human."

"You_ were_ human when you crashed here," the Doctor slowly approached the pepper pot and rested a hand on it, "It was you who climbed out of the pod, that was your ladder Amy and I found."

"I'm... human..."

"Not anymore. Because you're right, you're a genius. And the Daleks need genius."

"It's why the Doctor was asking about the milk," Mac told her, "The milk and the eggs for the soufflés. There's no way you'd have had enough over the course of a year."

"Eggs," the Dalek breathed, "Eggs…"

Mac tensed at that and reached out to touch the Doctor's arm, "We need to go…now."

He nodded and stepped back, "We're sorry Oswin, but it wasn't real. It was never real."

"Eggs... term... in... ate!" Oswin cried, the Dalek raising its laser arm as Mac pulled him back, realizing what was happening, the same as with the other Daleks she'd encountered, "Exterminate! Exterminate!"

The Time Lords back away towards the doors as the Dalek advanced, snapping the chains around her and rushing at them.

"No, no, no, Oswin, Oswin listen...Oswin!" the Doctor tried to get through to her, "You don't have to do this!"

"EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"

"Oswin!" Mac gasped, "Oswin, sweetie, stop it right now young lady!" it was her last thought to try that, to try and appeal to Oswin as a human, as a mother would her child, because Oswin was still someone's daughter.

And suddenly…the Dalek stopped, the sounds of Oswin crying able to be heard, breaking their hearts, "Why do they hate you...so much? They hate you so much. Why?"

"I fought them," the Doctor told her, taking Mac's hand, "Many, many times."

"We have grown stronger in fear of you."

"I know. I tried to stop."

"Then run."

Mac blinked, "What?"

"I've taken down the force field!" Oswin shouted, "The Daleks above have begun their attack. Run!"

"Oswin…"

"I am Oswin Oswald," the Dalek stated, "I fought the Daleks. And I AM... human. Remember me."

"Thank you!" the Doctor breathed, squeezing Mac's hand and turning to pull her out of the room, Oswin's shouts still heard behind them.

"Run! Run, you clever boy, you sweet girl, and remember me!"

"I don't think we'd ever be able to forget her," Mac mused as they rushed down the corridor, her hearts clenching at the thought of how traumatic Oswin's conversion had to be for her to have blocked it out so thoroughly.

"Never ever," the Doctor agreed as they dodged past debris starting to fall around them from the attack above, till they skid around a corner and into the teleport room…only to see Amy and Rory kissing in the middle of the pad, "Right, go, let's go! We're good, let's go!" he pulled Mac onto the pad and waited for Rory to push the button, but he just kept kissing his wife, "Oh, for God's sake!" he grabbed the control and hit it…

Just as Mac pulled him down for a kiss of her own, distracting him just as much as the Ponds were distracted by each other, not even noticing the planet exploding around them...

~8~

The Doctor grinned as he ran around the console as they reappeared in the TARDIS, well, a few minutes AFTER they'd reappeared as he was not about to stop kissing Mac just because they'd been teleported back. But now they'd come up for air and he wanted to taunt the Daleks just a little that their plan to get rid of him and the Asylum had failed, "You know, you guys should really have seen this coming," he called into the speakers, rushing for the doors, "Thing about me and teleports, I've got a really good aim. Pin-point accurate, in fact. Or to put it another way..." he threw the doors open and pointed at the Minister as he stepped out, "Suckers!"

"Identify yourself!" the Daleks began to cry, "Identify! Identify!"

"Well, it's me," he blinked, "You know me! The Doctor! The Oncoming Storm? The Predator?"

"Titles are not meaningful in this context," Darla stated blankly, "Doctor who?"

"Doctor who?" the Minister agreed.

"Doctor who?" the White Dalek repeated.

"Doctor…" Mac called, letting out a breath, "I think Oswin sent that command through the WHOLE Path Web."

He blinked at that before grinning, she'd erased them from ALL Dalek memory!

"DOCTOR WHO?" the Daleks started to cry out, "DOCTOR WHO?!"

"Fellas," he smirked, "You're never going to stop asking," before he ducked back into the TARDIS and ran over to Mac as she got them into the Vortex, spinning her in his arms, "Doctor Who! Doctor Who! Doc! Tor! Who!" he laughed…before sobering when he spotted the Ponds STILL kissing, "I'm starting to wonder if humans really do breathe out their ears."

A/N: My apologies for this being so ridiculously late :( It was my cousin's graduation today and she lives in a different state, we left at 5:30am to try and get there for early enough to have some time to relax (my sister brought her laptop and was going to let me use it when we got to their house and borrowed their wifi so I could post the chapters) but, in true dad-fashion, my dad missed the exit and we ended up being late, getting there right when her family was leaving for the graduation, and then there was the reception/dinner after that, and we ended up just driving straight back. I didn't get home till about 5 minutes ago -sigh- :(

As for this chapter...I really wanted a bit of Rory/Mac bonding time :)

Some notes on reviews...

I'm hoping to start the episode covers back up this weekend :) They take a bit of time to make, finding a screencap, and then the image of the OC, and cropping and maneuvering and piecing it all together lol :)


	4. Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

Mac looked up from where she was preparing the TARDIS for dematerialization when she heard the doors open and the Doctor shouting, "Help! Kenzie help!" as he ran for her.

"What is it?" she rushed around the console, "What's wrong?"

The Doctor ran around her and grabbed her by the shoulders, using her as a shield and whispered, "Keep her away from me," to her before he ducked down behind her again.

Mac blinked, confused, and looked up to see Nefertiti step into the TARDIS, the woman staring around in awe of the box and the bigger on the inside room she'd entered.

"Need a bit of context here dear," Mac told him, not quite sure what was wrong. It was 1334BC, they'd just helped the Egyptian queen deal with some rather foul alien locusts and they were just about to head off.

"Just…just…just keep her back," he waved his arm out beside her, still hiding behind her, "Back I say!"

Mac bit her lip to keep from laughing at his reaction to the queen, not entirely sure what could have inspired a reaction like that, "And how would you like me to ensure that?" she asked jokingly.

The Doctor's response, however, was far more serious as he spun her around and kissed her deeply, even going so far as to dip her to the side for a moment before lifting her back up.

Mac let out a breath at that, feeling all the air sucked out of her at that, her heart racing, "I take it that was not a 'job well done' kiss?" it likely wasn't given how angry and irritated Nefertiti now seemed.

"No," he answered.

"That was a 'I'm with someone else' kiss, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

"And you felt the need to do that because…"

"I probably shouldn't tell you," he winced.

"And why not?" she frowned suspiciously.

"Because Nefertiti's not meant to go anywhere for another four years."

Mac blinked and sighed, "She kissed you, didn't she?"

"Tried to, a bit, yeah," he nodded, "But! But, didn't manage it. And, point two, we have something more important to see to."

"And what's that?" she sighed, crossing her arms.

He grinned and kissed her again, "That for me," he winked, "And this…" he showed her a message he'd gotten on the psychic paper, "For us."

Mac eyed the message before she started to grin, "Let's go!" she took his hand and the ran to the console, getting the box to the paper's destination and quite ignoring the Egyptian queen as she huffed and grabbed onto the railing for balance.

~8~

Mac and the Doctor stood on one side of a screen in the Military Headquarters of the Earth circa 2367 a lovely, lndira Indian woman on the other side, explaining why they'd felt the need to call the Time Lords in. They were currently in the process of try to erase themselves from history, a bit inspired by Oswin and what she'd done to the Daleks, but it was harder to do that to people who already knew they existed, after that whole incident with the Silence, they were NOT about to tamper with anyone's memories so a select few people throughout the Universe knew they still existed and a handful less knew that they were alive. Right not, not even Indira really knew who or what they were. They had sent out a distress call in general and so they'd arrived, the psychic paper giving them a cover of being special agents assigned to see to the latest danger to the earth.

"Craft size approximately ten million square kilometers," Indira showed them an image of the craft that appeared to be heading right for the earth, it looked like a small ball with sticks coming from the center, with rectangular blocks on the end of each stick.

"That's about the size of Canada," Mac murmured.

"And coming at Earth very fast," the Doctor sighed, "Any signs of life?" he looked at Indira.

But the woman shook her head, "We sent up a drone craft, it took these readings."

Mac and the Doctor looked over at the screen as new information whizzed past it, "Crikey Charlie, look at that!" the Doctor grinned, seeing quite a few interesting results, "Ooh, I know someone who'd love a look."

"We should see if Amy and Rory want to come as well," Mac nodded.

The Ponds had had a long talk about their future and adventure, once Rory and Amy had both revealed what they were going to give up for the other in the Asylum, it had made them realize that, instead of secrets and relinquishment, perhaps it would be best to just…compromise. They'd spoken to the Time Lords as well about their plans and hopes. It was a new plan of theirs, to try and really actually wean the Ponds off them, visiting them on Earth three months later, then six, then nine, and so on, only popping in randomly if they really and truly thought that there was an adventure that the Ponds shouldn't miss. And this…this might just be one of them. Mac was much more knowledgeable about what constituted an adventure like that. Just because the Doctor stumbled across the largest ball of twine in space didn't mean that the Ponds had to see it.

The Doctor beamed at that, draping an arm around Mac's shoulders, "Mustn't forget the Ponds! Haven't seen them in ages."

"Aren't supposed to for 2 months more," Mac reminded him, "But this…this is something new."

"Can you communicate with this craft?" Nefertiti, who had been standing off to the side quietly glaring at Mac asked Indira.

"No," Indira sighed, "No response on any channel in any recognized language. If it comes within 10,000 kilometers of Earth, we send up missiles."

"Oh, Indira, I liked you before you said missiles," the Doctor frowned.

"And how long will it be before that point?" Mac wondered.

"Six hours, nineteen minutes," Indira replied.

"Right, better get a shift on then!" the Doctor nodded, "Leave it with us. Come on then, Neffy! We're going to need help," he turned and headed back for the TARDIS, not really wanting t brig Nefertiti with them given how she was glaring at Mac and seemed to try to ignore her, but he couldn't leave her there, he was correct in that Nefertiti still had to be in Egypt for about 4 more years.

~8~

Mac and Nefertiti stood in a staring match, more like a glaring match as they had their eyes narrowed and arms crossed, looking at each other, waiting for the Doctor to arrive back with their latest passenger, John Riddell, a big game hunter in Africa, they would need is expertise and experience if the craft was full of what they thought it was. The Doctor had refused to allow her to go with him to get Riddell and refused to let her go instead of him. The first because he didn't want her and Riddell together, and the second because of the same reason but also because he didn't want to be alone with Nefertiti. Riddell, they'd met him a short while after meeting Amy and it had been a time when Mac hadn't realized the Doctor had been flirting with her, so Riddell had taken a large advantage of that and flirted with her instead, getting him all riled up. He knew it was in jest, the man had seen what everyone else had, that the Doctor was head over heels for the woman, but it still unsettled the Doctor and now Riddell did it just to irritate him.

"Right then!" the Doctor cheered as he rushed into the box, past Mac, taking her hand and pulling her towards the console and out of her contest with the Egyptian queen, Riddell smirking as he made his way up to them, "Time to get the Ponds."

"I said we should see if the Ponds wanted to come Doctor," Mac reminded him, picking up the phone to call them first.

But the Doctor flittered around the console and took the phone, placing it back down, "They'll want to, believe me," it was also a way to keep both Riddell from flirting with Mac and Nefertiti from flirting with him to have more people there…he'd originally been hoping Riddell would flirt with Nefertiti but the way the man was smirking at Mac he had doubts about that now. Having a married couple there and a Chosen couple would hopefully hint to them that they were all taken and to look elsewhere.

"If they get cross Doctor, it's all on you," Mac warned.

The Doctor just grinned and pointed at her, before he ran around to his side of the console, absently slapping Nefertiti's hand away from a button she was reaching for so he could pull a lever, setting the TARDIS down right around the Ponds…not even noticing they weren't alone as a third, older man had been taken with them, standing on a small ladder.

"Hello!" he cheered to them, "You weren't busy, were you? Well, even if you were, it wasn't as interesting as this probably is. Didn't want you to miss it. Now, just a quick hop…" he pulled another lever and they were of towards the craft.

Mac sighed, seeing the poor man, Rory's father she recognized from some talks with him, the poor man had been laid up in bed with the flu when Rory's wedding had taken place, was just blinking away and staring at the room in shock, "May want to grab a torch," she patted Rory on the shoulder, the man rubbing his face at thinking of how he'd explain this to his father, before she hurried out after the Doctor, seeing hi already rushing for the doors.

Outside the Doctor was already looking around intently, using the sonic as a torch. She frowned, seeing him looking at something intently and headed over to him, her penlight in hand. Only to gasp and jump back when she saw he was looking at a spider on a web, "Spiders!" she huffed, backing up right into a crate, "I hate spiders."

"Sorry," the Doctor winced, recalling her fear of them, and turned around, moving back to her and wrapping his arm around her waist, kissing her temple, "Don't normally get spiders in space," he tried to reassure her.

"Doesn't seem that way," she muttered, trying not to look at the web though now that she knew there was one there she couldn't help but fidget and look everywhere, expecting spiders to be all over the place.

"What the..." Rory's father, Brian, breathed as he stepped out of the TARDIS and saw the spaceship they were in.

"Don't move!" the Doctor shouted, rushing over to the man, "D'you really think I'm that stupid I wouldn't notice? How did you get aboard? Transmat? Who sent you?"

"Doctor…that's my dad," Rory reminded him.

"Well, frankly, that's outrageous," the Doctor turned to Rory, offended.

"What?"

"You think you can bring your dad along without asking? I'm not a taxi service, you know!"

"Unless it's our daughter calling yes?" Mac moved closer to the Doctor, really not liking the dark and the webs she could see around and the…spiders, "And besides dear, we materialized around them."

"Oh," the Doctor blinked, "Well, that's fine then, my mistake. Hello, Brian, how are you?" he shook Brian's hand, "Nice to meet you. Welcome, welcome!"

"Sorry about him," Mac laughed, moving to give Brian a reassuring hug, "At least he didn't try to kiss you this time," she winked, thinking of how she'd finally managed to convince the Doctor that Gallic air kisses were NOT how humans typically said hello. And she would know, she'd actually lived among them.

"Now then, everyone," the Doctor spun around, "This is the gang. I've got a gang yes! Come on then, everyone!" he took Mac's hand and slowly walked off down the corridor with him, leaving Rory to try and come up with some sort of excuse to his father for the situation…not that there was really one that could be given except for the truth.

They stopped only a short distance down though when they heard a loud thudding and the ship began to shake around them, "Alright, where are we, and what is that noise?' Amy called as she managed to catch up to them, "And hello! Ten months!"

"I know," Mac sighed, "We weren't due for another 2, sorry. I tried to get him to call but he thought materialization would be better."

"And it is," the Doctor agreed, "Because you don't want to miss this."

"So again, where are we?" Amy rolled her eyes though there was a smile on her lips. This weaning thing…it was hard, going a year without the Doctor or Mac…maybe they should have made it 2 month spans instead of 3.

"Orbiting Earth, well, I say orbiting, more like pre-crashing on a spaceship, don't know, and hello, Pond," he turned to hug Amy.

"This is Riddell," Mac nodded at the man.

"And this is Neffy," the Doctor added quickly, seeing both Nefertiti starting to glare again and Riddell open his mouth to likely flirt with Mac once more, "They're with us."

"For now."

"With you?" Amy frowned, "They're with you, are they the new us?"

"No," Mac smiled, hugging Amy as well, "We've talked and we agreed no companions till you and Rory are completely off us."

"I don't think that'll happen till we're dead," Amy joked, she really couldn't imagine her life without them. Even if it was just the occasional trips. She knew that it would end up being lengthy years between visits at one point, but just being able to see them at times…that was enough for her. They'd been a part of her life since she was 7 years old, and she wanted them to be there even when she was 70. She could try and pass them off as her grandchildren then, especially if Mac still had her red hair.

"I just thought we might need a gang," the Doctor said quickly, "Not really had a gang before, it's new."

They all winced, hearing a grinding noise sounding from doors before them, a lift of some sort judging by the sound of it, "I think it's coming down," Mac murmured.

"What is it?" Riddell asked, hearing something beyond the grinding noise.

"No idea," the Doctor grinned though he and Mac DID have some sort of idea given Indira's scans, but they had to wait to be sure…and then the lift doors opened and their thoughts were confirmed as two ankylosaurus were standing within.

"Not possible," Brian breathed.

"Run!" the Doctor called, Mac starting to head off only to stop, roll her eyes, and dash back to grab his arm and pull him on.

"Dinosaurs!" he whooped as they ran, the dinosaurs stepping out of the lift, "On a spaceship!"

They caught up to the group quickly enough, all of them rushing down the corridors, trying to find a place to hide, "In here!" Nefertiti called and they all piled into a small side corridor that seemed just narrow enough for a human form but not thick enough for a dinosaur, making the Doctor and Mac look at each other as they realized…there should be people on this ship otherwise ALL the corridors would be wide enough for the dinosaurs.

The Doctor quickly put a finger to his lips, signaling the others to be quiet as they listened to the dinosaurs stomping away, coming closer to their spot.

"I could take one of them," Riddell pulled out a large hunting knife, "Short blow, up into the throat."

"Put the knife away John," Mac huffed, "We took you here for your experience in survival, not actual hunting."

"Which is just as well, I'd rather not hunt dinosaurs when there is much more alluring game about," he winked at her.

"As much as I agree with the alluring bit," the Doctor tugged Mac back, "And as difficult as it will be to focus on the dinosaurs because of it, we really DO have to focus on them. We need to preserve them."

"And who's going to preserve us?"

"Oh both of you hush," Mac hissed at them, the group falling silent as the dinosaurs passed them, letting them breathe a sigh of relief before they stepped out into the halls.

"Ok," Rory nodded, "So, how? And whose ship?"

"There's so much to discover," the Doctor cheered, "Think how much wiser we'll be by the end of all this."

"Sorry," Brian shook his head, "Sorry. Are you saying dinosaurs are flying a spaceship?"

"Not exactly," Mac smiled, "They're the cargo."

"Cargo we need to help get some where safe before the missiles hit," the Doctor agreed.

"MISSILES?!" Brian cried

"Didn't want to worry you," the Doctor winced.

"So you probably shouldn't have said that," Mac told him.

"Yes…anyway, six hours is a lifetime...not literally a lifetime, that's what we're trying to avoid. And we're all really clever! Especially Kenzie, ooh you should see the things she's done," he beamed at her.

"Come on dear," Mac patted him on the arm, "We need to find the control room."

~8~

The Doctor grinned as they entered a room full of vegetation, but even more importantly, computers! He hurried over to one, glancing back at Mac as she looked at the flora growing around them and quickly wiped the spiderweb and spiders off the machinery, flicking it away before Mac could notice. She really was deathly afraid of spiders.

"How many dinosaurs do you think are on here?" he heard Amy asking Mac as he worked on getting the computer working with the sonic, the screen flickering to life just as Rory and Brian joined him.

"Can't be sure," Mac mumbled, "It's a large vessel, but they're large creatures."

"Oh, well done, whoever you are!" the Doctor cheered.

"What are you doing?" Amy moved over to them, placing her hand on Rory's shoulder to lean down and look.

"Looking for the engines," he answered, and the screen changed all on its own to the engine data, "Thank you, computer. Look at that! Kenzie look at this," he called, but she was looking at one of the leaves of the plants around them, "Different sections have different engines, but these look like the primary clusters. Where are we now, computer? We need to get down to these engines..."

Mac blinked, hearing him suddenly go silent and turned round to see he, Rory, Brian, and Amy were gone, "Wonderful," she muttered, seeing she'd been left alone with both Riddell and Nefertiti.

"What happened?" Nefertiti frowned.

Mac strode over to the computer, looking at it and sighed, "They went to the engine room," she shook her head, "And the teleport shorts out afterwards, we'll have to make our way down there ourselves," she looked at the map of the ship, memorizing it, "Come on," before she turned and led the way out of the room.

~8~

Mac was starting to wonder how the Doctor did it, how he took on companions if they were even a hint of what Nefertiti and Riddell were like when they were together. She hadn't often been around humans in the wrong time period alone, by herself, without the Doctor there…if this was what all his companions were like on their own…she was almost glad she wasn't a pilot for the TARDIS and couldn't take on a companion of her own. They hadn't stopped asking questions, question after question about the ship and the dinosaurs and so many other things she was ready to rip her hair out.

Finally though Riddell seemed to get back on task and talk about what was going on, "There are clearly more than just two of those creatures," he remarked, taking a swig of something from a flask…only for Mac to reach out and take it, putting it in her pocket, "Oi!"

"Could come in useful," Mac shrugged, "Best if I have all my resources in one place. And you shouldn't be drinking anyway, you're a horrible shot when you're drunk."

"It's medicinal Kenzie."

"Don't call me Kenzie."

"I don't take orders from females."

"Then learn," Nefertiti shot him a withering look, "Any man who speaks to me that way, I execute."

"You're very welcome to try," he smirked at her, "And who are you anyway?"

"Riddell, Nefertiti," Mac introduced with a wave of her hand, not even looking back, "Nefertiti, Riddell."

"I'll be damned..." Riddell breathed, staring at her.

Mac stopped suddenly, Riddell nearly running into her because of it and his distraction.

"Why have we sopped?" Nefertiti asked.

'Because of that," Mac pointed her penlight to the floor where a sleeping T-Rex was lying, "It's just a baby," Mac warned, "It's too small, but that means mother dearest will be close," she looked around, up and down the corridor, "We should head back."

"I don't think that's possible," Riddell remarked, hearing dinosaurs behind them.

"Forwards then," Nefertiti hiked up her skirts and began to tiptoe around the dinosaur as it slept.

Mac followed along, carefully making her way past dinosaur too…only to roll her eyes when she saw Riddell climb OVER it, "Adrenaline junkie," she muttered to herself as he grinned, nearly waking the dinosaur in the process of crawling over it, but managed to make it to them in one piece.

"Perhaps I am," Riddell grinned, not quite sure what it was entirely but guessing, "You make my heart race and blood pump more than any dinosaur could," he winked at her once more.

"And you give me dyspepsia," Mac remarked dryly, "Come on," she turned and headed on.

~8~

"Finally," Mac huffed as she and Riddell and Nefertiti entered another computer room that was overrun with vines and vegetation, she'd wanted to check in on the Doctor, see if he was still in the engine room or if he'd moved somewhere else but…they'd passed quite a few dinosaurs on the way and yet there was no other living soul there, no humans, no caretakers, she wanted to know why.

"Whoever was running this vessel left in a hurry," Riddell remarked as he eyed the room, it was quite unkempt, the entire ship was, dark and dim and dusty, as though things had just been dropped and left without tending.

" Maybe a plague came and took them," Nefertiti suggested.

"No, there'd be corpses and bones."

"Unless the animals ate them."

"Both are possible," Mac nodded, "But there would be a record of it, a warning, believe me even when something strikes suddenly there's always one person who manages to try and warn others away," she mused, thinking of the Library, of the messages left on the Node that they should have listened to. She swallowed hard, knowing that wasn't true, if they had listened to the Node they wouldn't have been there for their daughter in her final minutes, "Here we go," she murmured, hitting a button and turning on the computer before her, thankful there were no webs or spiders on it.

"How did you know how to do that?" Nefertiti joined her, Riddell behind her, quite enjoying the view of the two women.

"I'm a Time Lady," Mac remarked, "This tech is simple compared to the TARDIS," and, to prove her point, she slid a tray with a small sphere on it into the computer, the screen flickering on, giving them audio but no visual.

"One hundred and seventeen years..." a male voice began.

"Data records," she realized.

"Ship's owners?" Riddell moved onto her other side for that.

"Possibly," she nodded, typing in a few commands to try and bring up the visual, "If we can get a picture, we can see who it is speaking and identify the species if it's non-human," she reached behind it and saw a wire barely connected to the screen, stuck in it but hanging there like it didn't quite fit. She pulled out a pencil and stuck the point in it just under the wire, keeping it up like a wedge.

"It's beautiful," Nefertiti breathed, seeing an image appear on the screen.

Mac pulled back to see it was a Silurian elder, "Silurians."

"I can't tell how far we have come," the man spoke, "Far enough to avoid the destructive impact forecast for our planet. Far enough for me to feel a profound sense of loss."

"What is that?" Riddell grimaced.

"It's called a Silurian," Mac repeated, "Or Homo-Reptilia."

"Of the 50 species loaded," the Silurian continued, "Only one has had any difficulty in surviving."

"Impressive."

"All the others are thriving and we expect them to be able to repopulate."

"So it's an ark then."

"Lizard people herding dinosaurs on to a space ark?!" Riddell scoffed, "Absolute tommy-rot."

"Only an idiot denies the evidence of their own eyes," Nefertiti glared at him.

"Egyptian queen or not, I shall put you across my knee and spank you."

"There's a room over there," Mac pointed to the side, not even looking away from the screen as information drifted across it.

"Try and I'll snap your neck in a heartbeat," Nefertiti threatened.

" Mm," Riddell hummed at her, "Well, they certainly bred firecrackers in your time."

"Seriously, there's a room, right there," Mac repeated.

Riddell laughed, "Oh you shan't be getting rid of me that easily," he draped a lazy arm around her shoulder, "Now, if this ship was built by Sturgians."

"Silurians."

"Where are they?"

"I was about to find out," she sighed, "Computer, display life signs for homo reptilian," she blinked, seeing no life signs were there, "Where'd they all go?"

"Perhaps they found another world, left the ship," Nefertiti suggested.

"Not without the dinosaurs," Mac shook her head, "And if they found another world the ship wouldn't return to Earth," she bit her lip, considering it a moment, "Computer, display a scan of the ship at launch, all life signs," she saw one pop up with quite a few little pricks of light everywhere, green and pink, "Now display the ship at current, side by side," the lights were gone safe for the green that she knew likely represented the dinosaurs, "And there it is," she whispered, reaching out to tap the middle of the second image, "There's another ship attached to this one," she shook her head and closed her eyes, reaching out for the Doctor.

'_Theta?_' she called out in her mind.

'_Naery?_' he responded, his voice a bit faint but at least she could hear him.

'_Be careful,_' she warned, '_This ship…it's Silurian, it's an ark they were attempting to use to find a new home._'

'_But where are they?_'

'_Gone,_' she let out a breath, '_The computers show thousands of them, thousands of stasis pods…but they're all empty now._'

'_I think I know what happened,_' he said, an edge to his voice, '_I'll see you soon Naey._'

'_Please, Theta, be careful._'

'_I will,_' he promised and she opened her eyes. She promptly turned around and began to look through the room for any supplies they could use that would help defend them from the dinosaurs as well as any threat that had rid the ship of the Silurians.

"Here," she called, tossing Riddell a rifle like object.

Riddell laughed, "You approving of weapons?"

"It's a stun gun," she rolled her eyes, "Anesthetic is in those magazines," she nodded at them.

"Ah, well a gun isn't necessary in that sense," he grinned at her, "You're stunning enough."

"And I'm going to slap you in a minute," Mac huffed, "Either you take the gun and quiet down or I knock you out and you miss out on the chance to hunt down dinosaurs."

Riddell laughed and mimed locking his lips.

"The Doctor's got a thought about who's done this, we just have to find him," she moved back to the monitor, flicking through the security footage to try and find him.

"You and the Doctor..." Nefertiti began cautiously, "Are you his queen?"

"Yes," Mac said simply, "I'm his Chosen Queen, and YOU have a husband."

"A male equivalent of a sleeping potion," Nefertiti drawled.

"You clearly need a man of action and excitement," Riddell cut in, "One with a very large weapon," he cocked his rifle with a grin and headed to the door to keep watch.

Mac just let out a relieved breath, as long as he was flirting with Nefertiti, that was fine by her.

~8~

"This ship is just rubbish," Mac huffed as she looked through the records and schematics of it, having hacked into the data while another program on the monitor ran a scan for where the Doctor was. It seemed whoever had gotten rid of the Silurians hadn't wanted themselves to come up on any of the scans and so had made the life sign scan show nothing but the dinosaurs. She'd been hopeful that it meant that the Silurians might still be alive, but a footage search of the halls with the cryochambers in it revealed them all open and empty, the aliens were truly gone.

"How so?" Nefertiti frowned.

"There are no defense systems at all to stop the missiles," she remarked, "Should have expected it, the ancient species didn't think much about war…"

"The Doctor was trying for the control deck before," Riddell stepped up behind them, rejoining the small group, "Could that not help?"

"Not now," she shook her head, "By now the earth's sent up the missiles, or are about to..."

As though hearing her, the program running for the Doctor found him, and his voice filled the room, "…missiles are locked on."

"So, what, we're just giving up?" Rory was asking.

Mac quickly shut down the schematics and brought up the security footage to see Rory and Amy with the Doctor and Brian standing in a hall, arguing.

"Well you're just gonna have to come up with something," Amy decided, "Cos that's not the way we roll."

The Doctor smiled at that, about to speak, when there was a flash of light and an old man, dirty and grimy appeared with two large yellow robots beside him. Mac knew instantly that had to be the man that had taken over the ship, he was the only other person there.

"You were telling the truth, Doctor," the man began, "Earth has launched missiles. This vessel is too clumsy to outrun them, but I have my own ship."

"You won't get your precious cargo onboard though," the Doctor countered, confirming Mac's thoughts, "It'll just be you and your metal tantrum machines."

"We do not have tantrums!" one of the robots huffed, its voice a bit squeaky.

"Shut up!" the man snapped, starting to walk towards the Doctor, leaning heavily on his canes, canes that she noticed were rather sharp on one side, "You're right, Doctor. I can't keep the dinosaurs and live myself. But I had the IV system scan the entire ship and it found something even more valuable. Utterly unique. I don't know where you found it or how you got it here, but I want it."

"I don't know what you're talking about," the Doctor stiffened.

The man just smiled, "Earth Queen Nefertiti of Egypt," Mac glanced back as Nefertiti stiffened, Riddell's jaw clenching, "A face stamped across history. Give her to me and I'll let the rest of you live."

"No," the Doctor shook his head.

The man scoffed, "You think I won't punish those who get in my way? Whatever their worth?" he gave a jerk of his head and the second robot stepped forward and shot at something to the side of the screen, something Mac hadn't originally noticed, a small triceratops sitting off to the side. She closed her eyes and looked away, hearing its cries of pain as it was brutally attacked.

She swallowed hard and opened her eyes to see the Doctor rushing over to it, kneeling down to pet it as it slowly died before he glared at the man and stood, clapping mockingly, "You must be very proud."

"Bring her to me. Or the robots will make their way through your corpses. Bring her now."

"No."

"Do it," Nefertiti called, "Bring me down there, now," she looked at Mac, "I order you."

"I don't take orders," Mac shook her head.

"Then I am asking you,' Nefertiti said quietly, "Please, bring me down there."

Mac bit her lip, catching a glimpse of the first robot starting to lift its weapons arm at the Doctor and sighed, hitting the teleport button and sending them down there.

~8~

"What are you doing?!" the Doctor gaped as they appeared in a flash of light before him.

"I demanded to be brought here," Nefertiti said, her head held high.

"And I refused until she asked politely," Mac had to add, moving to the Doctor's side, "I think she wants to go through with the exchange."

"No!" the Doctor shook his head, looking at Nefertiti, "No, no, no, no way."

"It isn't your choice, Doctor," Nefertiti defended, "It's mine."

"Listen to me, if you go with him, then Kenzie and I can't guarantee your safety."

"You saved my people. I am in your debt."

"There are no debts for doing something anyone would have," Mac shook her head, "Your people were in danger, we helped, that's all. We didn't do it because we expected any sort of payment."

"Then I do it of my own will," she turned and headed for the man.

"No!" Riddell quickly cocked his rifle and aimed it right at the man, "Take her, I shoot you."

"Put your weapon down!" Nefertiti huffed, "Let me make my choice."

"Do it, boy," the man sneered, the second robot stepping forward and raising its weapon arm until Riddell lowered the rifle, "My bounty increases. And what an extraordinary bounty you are," he reached out to touch Nefertiti.

But she shoved his hand away, "Never touch me."

So the man grabbed her arm and shoved her against a pillar, holding the sharp end of his cane to her throat, "I like my possessions to have spirit. It means I can have fun breaking them," he laughed, allowing her to push his cane away, "And I will break you in, with immense pleasure. Thank you, Doctor. Computer? Take us back to my ship"

Mac blinked and, a second later, Nefertiti, the man, and his robots were gone in a clap of light.

"Hostile targeting in progress," the computer called above them, signaling that the missiles were getting closer, "Hostile targeting in progress."

"Bingo," the Doctor smiled, an idea hitting him.

"What is it?" Rory asked as Mac looked at him and started smirking, "Doctor?"

"Computer," Mac called, "Takes us to the control deck."

~8~

The small group appeared on the control deck, Mac grimacing when she saw the cobwebs covering two piloting chairs that were facing each other, a small post between them. The Doctor tossed Mac the sonic and headed for the chairs, cleaning them off as Mac got to work prying the cap off the post and starting to root around inside.

"So, what's the plan?" Rory asked as Riddell moved to keep watch.

"Come on," the Doctor smiled, "The missiles are locked on to us, we can't outrun them, we have to save the dinosaurs and get Nefertiti back from Solomon. Isn't it obvious?!"

"It's sort of the opposite of obvious."

"If we can turn the ship around and get the target of the missiles locked on Solomon?" she glanced at the Doctor for the man's name, him nodding that that was right, "Then the missiles will go after his ship instead."

"But his ship is attached to this one," Amy reminded them.

"For now," Mac nodded, pulling her hand out, a handful of wires in it.

"We have 17 minutes before the missiles hit," the Doctor told them, "That's 17 minutes to switch the signals. Riddell? Keep an eye out for dinosaurs."

Riddell grinned and cocked his rifle, "I was rather hoping you'd say that," before he headed out of the room.

"Use the stun packs!" Mac called after him.

"Rory, Brian, get rid of the cobwebs," the Doctor nodded to the second chair, still working on cleaning the first one when he realized what sort of chair it was, "Oh don't be like that!"

"What's wrong?" Amy called.

"Parallel pilot compartments," the Doctor sighed, rubbing his forehead before looking at Mac, knowing she'd understand, "Bio-configured, needs two operators of the same gene chain. That's why Solomon couldn't change the ship's course and neither can we."

"What about Brian and Rory then?" Mac shook her head, "If you need the same gene-chain, son comes after father in one."

"Brilliant!" the Doctor beamed, rushing to her and kissing her quickly, before hurrying to Rory and Brian, separating them, "Sit down, both of you. Ship does all the engineering, the controls are straightforward, even a monkey could use them," he waited till the 'Pond men' had sat before grinning, "Oh, look, they're going to."

"Don't," Mac shook her head, amused, "Don't do that."

The Doctor pouted at that, "Anyway," he returned his attention to Rory and Brian, "Two eye-line screens, velocity and trajectory. Steer away from Earth, try not to bump into the moon otherwise the races who live there will be livid."

"What?" Brian blinked.

"Primary controls in the arms of the chairs, principle's the same as any vehicle. Eight minutes, 45 seconds," he glanced at his watch before holding out his hand to Mac for her to hand him the sonic as he activated the chairs, "Get us as far away as you can," he turned around and laughed, "Need a hand?"

Mac glanced at him from where she had her arm buried in the post, her head ducked into it with her penlight in her mouth. She shook her head and got back to what she was doing as he joined her, using the sonic for light just to help.

"What're you doing?" Amy moved over to them.

"Crossing the signals," Mac managed to get out with her teeth around the penlight.

"How's the job?" the Doctor looked at Amy.

"We're about to be hit by missiles and you're asking me that?" Amy scoffed.

He shrugged, "Is there a better time?"

Amy sighed, "I gave it up."

"What again?" Mac mumbled, this was the third or fourth one she'd given up so far.

"Oi," Amy nudged her with a laugh, "I just can't settle. Every minute, I'm listening out for that stupid TARDIS sound…"

"Right, so it's our fault now, is it?" the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"I can't not wait for you," Amy explained, "Even with the gaps getting longer I…I quit when I know you're both due to come so I don't get fired for disappearing…" she sighed, "This weaning thing…it's hard."

"Imagine how much worse it is for babies," Mac mumbled, "At least you understand why it's happening."

"And it's what you and Rory wanted," he reminded her, "You have lives. Each other. This is what we agreed on."

"I know," Amy swallowed hard, "I just worry there'll come a time when you're supposed to show p and…you don't. And then I'll wonder if something happened to you or if you over shot the land and I'll still be waiting, never knowing."

"Amy," Mac looked up, taking the penlight out of her mouth, "If we ever do that, you WILL get a proper goodbye from us, I promise," she crossed her hearts, "If you still want us around, visiting when we agreed, we'll still show up."

"Yes," the Doctor laughed, patting Amy's shoulder, "You'll be there till the end of us."

"Or vice versa," Amy said softly, all three knowing that was the more likely outcome.

Mac dropped her eyes and looked back at the post, "I think I've got it," she mumbled pulling out more wires, a crystal among it.

"Kenzie?" Riddell called as he entered, hiding his smirk as the Doctor threw him a fierce glare for using that name, "This is a two-man job."

"I've got it," Amy laughed, seeing the Doctor about to protest Mac going with him, and grabbed a rifle off to the side.

"What're you doing?" Riddell eyed her.

"I'm easily worth two men," she told the man with a smirk, stepping past him with a, "You can help too, if you like."

The Doctor looked down at the crystal and picked it up, looking at Mac, "Ready dear?" he held out a hand to her, "We promised no more splitting up."

She laughed at that, "This time it was your own fault," she reminded him, gently taking his hand and he flicked the sonic on, the two of them disappearing via another teleport.

~8~

Mac blinked as they appeared on Solomon's ship and quickly grabbed two live wires off the wall, seeing the robots turning to them, reaching out and pressing the to the robots' chests, sending them flying back onto the ground.

The Doctor chuckled at that, "Hello!" he called to Solomon, seeing the man standing in front of Nefertiti, "Having trouble leaving? Ship's still magnetized, couldn't bear to lose you."

"Release my ship, Doctor," Solomon sneered, grabbing Nefertiti's arm and holding his cane to her neck, "Or I kill this precious little object."

"Worst thing you could possibly call her," Mac remarked moments before Nefertiti kicked Solomon's other cane out from under him, grabbing the one he'd been holding at her neck free and pressing it down to his own neck instead.

"I am not your possession now, nor will I ever be," Nefertiti glared, "Now stay there!"

"Don't mess with Egyptian queens, Solomon," the Doctor strolled in, "Or Gallifreyan Queens."

"Gallifreyan Queens?" Mac gave him a look.

"I believe you said you were my queen?" he gave her a smug smile back.

Mac shook her head, a faint blush on her cheeks, "How about don't mess with women in general?"

The Doctor laughed, "I like that," he nodded, thinking about how River handled herself, and glanced at Solomon, "I hope you've learnt that now."

"What're you doing?!" Solomon gasped as he saw the Time Lord moving over to the controls, Mac moving to Nefertiti and checking her over for injuries.

"Disabling this ship's signal and replacing it with the one from the Silurian ship," the Doctor remarked casually, "I send this craft off emitting the signal they're looking for, the missiles will follow," he turned around with a smile, "Hopefully Silurian ship safe, dinosaurs safe, everybody safe," he glanced at his watch and grimaced, "Bit tight for time though, shouldn't really be chatting. Come on dear," he moved over to Mac and put his arm around her waist, "Let's go, come along Neffy," he called to Nefertiti as they headed out.

"One more thing though," Mac paused, pulling the crystal out of her pocket, "Nearly forgot about this," she looked at Solomon and placed it down on a nearby crate, "Quite valuable when you look at it, large crystal. But looks can be deceiving Solomon, this…is dangerous, and this will be the end of you."

"That's the thing the missiles are locked onto," the Doctor agreed, "Now, one press on this," he held up his sonic as they entered the teleport, "And the ship's demagnetized."

"Doctor, whatever you want, I can get it for you, whatever object you desire," Solomon pleaded, trying to pull himself up.

"I've got all I could ever want, right here," he squeezed Mac's waist," he gave Solomon a hard look, thinking about all the empty cryochambers, all the dead Silurians, how the man had spoken with such ease about killing them all, "Enjoy your bounty," he flicked the sonic on, getting them all back to the Silurian ship the Pond men were piloting moments before the missiles hit Solomon's.

~8~

The Doctor was a ball of energy as he led the small gang through the halls of the ship back to the TARDIS, "So, dinosaur drop-off time," he stepped to the side as Mac unlocked the doors with her key.

"Actually, we think home for us," Rory told them, "We were 2 months off," he reminded the Doctor.

He nodded, "Yes, yes, of course," he agreed.

"Just think," Amy took a breath, "It's just a couple of months till we see you again, just 2."

"Right, yes, we're pretty busy anyway," the Doctor agreed.

Mac smiled, knowing what would cheer him up, "We have a lunch date with River for Lake District," she recalled.

"Yes," he snapped his fingers and pointed at her, "Yes, we do."

"We just have to drop everyone off first."

"About that," Brian stepped up a moment, "Can I ask a favor? There's something I want to see."

"Of course Brian," Mac nodded, "What is it?"

~8~

Mac and the Doctor stood by the console, Riddell and Nefertiti in the African Plains, the two Time Lords just watching as the little Pond family stood by the doors of the TARDIS as the box hung over the earth, Brian sitting with his legs dangling out the box, having a small meal as they looked down at the planet below. It was a lovely picture, but it was sad in a way, to think that these moments would be fewer and farther between. Oh they could hop into the future, see the Ponds through their entire lives following their schedule, do it all in mere hours…but they didn't want to rush it, they wanted to savor it.

Mac glanced back at the monitor behind her, smiling as she saw the Silurian craft being led along on a towrope and had to wonder if River might like to join them on founding a new Siluria…

A/N: My dad is insane :( My brother has a 'race' this weekend and that means an entire day of preparing before hand and getting everything ready and fixed. He had us up and out of the house by 7:30 and I only just managed to grab a slice of toast for breakfast. I didn't get back till literally 4:15 and that was just so I could make lunch :( I posted this chapter with ATG but my dad was rushing us so much I guess I left the page before it loaded, sorry :( As soon as I got back and checked my tumblr I saw that there was a question about the chapter and realized it hadn't loaded, so I put it up as soon as I realized :( Sorry!

As for this chapter...for some reason I wasn't much a fan of this episode, I feel like Nefertiti and Riddell were sort of just thrown in there unnecessarily even though I love them both :/ I'm actually really excited for the next chapter though :)

Some notes on reviews...

I use Calibre too :) I would read my fics on the way to school on the train to try and spot the errors to fix :) I actually tried putting the title and my penname and the series on the covers for FF but they ended up being so small it was almost pointless lol :) I was sad during the 'I am human' part, especially because it gave glimpses to the conversion :'(

I agree, I feel like the Ponds, with how the Doctor popped in and out made it seem more like they were dragging out their time on the show than really giving them a good ending. I sort of liked where the Christmas Special ended, to me it implied that he was just going to pop in for visits and not keep taking them on adventures :/


	5. A Town Called Mercy

A Town Called Mercy

"For a town called Mercy," Mac began as she looked up at the sign over an entrance to a desert town, "It doesn't seem very merciful or welcoming."

The Doctor nodded as he stood beside her, his arm over her shoulders, as they looked at the various keep out signs around the entrance. It seemed like the only non-warning signs were the town's name and the population of 81, though the 1 seemed new and the 0 that had been a part of the 80 was crossed out, "Mercy," he read, "81 residents."

"Look at this," Amy called as she and Rory stood behind them, looking at a ring of wood and rock that appeared to be set up around the town, "It's a load of stones and lumps of wood."

This was a new thing for them since they'd decided to start weaning the Ponds off them. They'd been visiting and Amy had asked if they could go to the Day of the Dead festival. She'd just gotten a new job writing travel articles and one upcoming topic was that celebration. The Time Lords had been all too happy to go on a trip with the Ponds again and the Doctor was quite thrilled with the idea of the sugar skulls that the day was famous for.

"What is it?" Amy asked, seeing the Doctor sonicing the line and examining it for any significance.

"A load of stones and lumps of wood," he stated as he looked at the readings.

"Well that's disappointing," Mac joked, stepping over to his side and linking his arm with her own before they stepped over the line and headed towards the town.

The TARDIS, they'd come to learn through Idris, when they appeared somewhere they weren't meant to or weren't aiming for, it was mostly because the old girl felt there was something there that needed to be looked into. Best get on it and see what was going on so they could get the Ponds to the festival in time.

"Er, the sign does say, 'Keep out,'" Rory remarked, frowning as they kept going.

"I see keep-out signs as suggestions more than actual orders," the Doctor shrugged, "Like dry clean only."

"Never ever let him do the laundry," Mac warned them, "Three of my dresses ended up being fit only for dolls."

Amy laughed at that, imagining the Doctor attempting to do laundry…and then ending up 'improving' the washing machine and just destroying all of it…or turning everything TARDIS blue. She took Rory's hand and they followed after the Time Lords, heading further into the town and starting to feel just how unmerciful and unwelcoming the town really was as quite a few people regarded them warily, hiding behind doors, pulling children closer as they passed.

The Doctor stopped when one of the street lamps nearby seemed to spark with electricity, "That's not right," he frowned, scanning it quickly with the sonic.

"It's a street lamp," Rory shook his head, not seeing the big to do about it.

"Yes, but it's using electricity," Mac pointed out, "And it's about 10 years too early for that."

"It's only a few years out."

"Says the man who left his phone recharger in Henry VIII's rooms."

"Doctor," Amy began, noticing the people were getting steadily more unnerved by their presence, starting to pull the children inside and whisper about them, "Um..."

"Anachronistic electricity, keep-out signs, aggressive stares," the Doctor nearly beamed and looked at Mac, "Has someone been peeking at my Christmas list?" he tapped her nose.

Mac laughed and shook her head, "Perhaps the TARDIS got a peek out of it then."

He grinned at that and pulled a toothpick from his jacket pocket, sticking it into his mouth before he tugged her closer, winding his arm around her waist and led her towards the saloon.

"Mac!" Amy called, seeing the Doctor was ignoring her, but the Doctor had already pulled her into the other building so she and Rory ran after them, through the bat-wing door and into the room that used to be quite noisy with music playing and poker games going…that is until they entered.

It all went quite silent rather quickly.

The Doctor, oblivious as ever, didn't seem to notice as he moved right for the bar with Mac, "Tea," he ordered, Mac grimacing at his rather horrendous American accent, "But the strong stuff. Leave the bag in."

"Don't do that," Mac laughed at it, "Don't," before she reached out and snagged the toothpick from his lips before he could try some sort of trick with it and end up choking on it.

"What you doing here, son?" the female bartender asked.

"Son?" he gave a hearty chuckle at that, amused by her, a young human, calling HIM son, "You can stay."

"Sir," a voice called behind them and they looked over to see a black man stand up, dressed in a black suit, and grab his lapels, "Might I enquire who you is?"

"Are," Mac corrected, "Who you ARE."

"Of course," the Doctor shrugged it off, "This is Mackenzie, my Chosen, and I am the Doctor, and this is..." he didn't even get to introduce Amy or Rory as the patrons all quickly stood, "No need to stand," he smiled, glancing at Mac, "You see that? Manners."

"Um…" Mac began when she saw an old man approach the Doctor and gently nudge her to the side so he could measure the Doctor between the shoulders behind him, "What are you doing?"

"I'm the undertaker, ma'am," the man sighed, implying he was measuring the Doctor for the suit he'd be buried in.

"There's no need for that," she slowly tugged the man back, "In our culture we're cremated."

"I got a question," another voice called and they looked over to see a young boy had stepped forward, "Is you an alien?"

"ARE you," Mac corrected again, recalling far too many times when her younger sister had had trouble with grammar like that, "ARE you an alien."

"Well, um..." the Doctor blinked at the question, not having expected it, "Bit personal. It's all relative, isn't it? I mean, Kenzie and I think YOU'RE the aliens. But in this context, yes. Yes, I suppose I am, me and Kenzie are Ti…" he didn't get a chance to finish as the men suddenly rushed at him, picked him up, and carried him off.

Mac blinked for only a moment, not having expected that, before she ran off after them, "Oi! Let him go!"

"Doctor!" Amy shouted as she and Rory tried to help, but all three of them were grabbed by various men and held back, "Put him down!"

"Don't think we won't kill you," one of the men warned her.

"Try it," Mac dared him, "You just TRY it."

"Doctor!" Amy struggled.

Rory, dear sweet Rory, was more focused on the men dragging his wife along than the Doctor, "Leave her alone!"

"Don't worry!" the Doctor tried to reassure them, "Everything is completely under control!"

…and then he was tossed over the line of rock and wood and into the desert sand.

"Doctor!" Mac broke free and ran over to him, dropping to her knees and quickly checking him over for injuries, "Are you ok? Are you hurt? Where'd you fall?" she turned to the side, he'd rolled a bit after they'd tossed him so she wasn't sure exactly how he'd landed.

"Ow," he winced, rubbing his back as he sat up.

"Oh Doctor," Mac shook her head, "What am I going to do with you?" she sighed, moving to help him stand as well, wincing as he grimaced in pain. They turned around to head back into the town, only to see that all the men had drawn their guns on them and were aiming right at the Doctor, who slowly raised his hands, Mac following as well.

"He's coming," the black man breathed, seeing something over their shoulders, "Oh, God. He's coming."

Mac and the Doctor frowned and glanced back to see a larger man, dressed all in black, a mechanical sort of device over his eye and a gun where his arm should have been, walking towards them, appearing sporadically closer via teleports.

"Preacher..." the young man whispered, "Say something."

The black man swallowed hard before he began to pray, "Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done..."

The Doctor moved his hand to Mac's back, about to nudge her towards the line, about to try to step over it with her but the men refused to lower their guns…

Until a gunshot went off behind them.

The men spun around to see another man with a star-shaped badge on his fest, a thick moustache on his face, brown hair, thick build, "You. Bowtie and Girly," he pointed at the Doctor and Mac, "Get back across that line. Now."

The Doctor wasted no time in pushing Mac back over the line and into town, the two watching as the man in black disappeared.

"Isaac, he said he was a doctor," the young man whispered to the marshal, Isaac, "An alien doctor."

"That a reason to hand him to his death?" Isaac scoffed, "Or condemn an innocent woman to go down with him?"

"But, Isaac, it could be him!"

"You know it ain't," Isaac gave the boy a pointed look before nodding at Mac, "Ma'am," giving the same courtesy to Amy as well before he turned and headed off.

Mac glance at the Doctor, helping to brush off some of the dirt and straighten his bowtie, smiling as he fixed her headband, before they turned and hurried after the marshal, Amy and Rory quick to follow as the townspeople grumbled behind them.

~8~

The marshal's office was rather small, which made sense as the town wasn't that large, there was only one jail cell though and someone was already in it, asleep under a blanket it seemed. Isaac walked over to his desk and sat on the corner of it, looking intently at the Time Lords and Ponds as they followed him in.

"Care to explain what all that as about?" Mac crossed her arms, giving Isaac a disapproving look that reminded the man FAR too much of his mother.

"The Gunslinger," Isaac sighed, "Showed up three weeks back. We've been prisoners ever since. You see that borderline, stretching round the town? Woke up one morning, there it was. Nothing gets past it, in or out. No supply wagons, no reinforcements. Pretty soon, the whole town's going to starve to death."

"But... he let US in," Rory frowned.

"You ain't carrying any food, just three more mouths to feed. We'll all die even sooner now."

"What happens if someone crosses the line?" the Doctor wondered and Isaac just tossed him a Stetson with a bullet hole in it, "Ah, well..." he poked the hole, "He wasn't a very good shot then."

"He was aiming for the hat."

"He shoots people's hats?!"

"I'm assuming it was a warning shot dear," Mac sighed, taking the hat and looking at it.

"Ah," he nodded, "Yes. I see. Hmmm."

"What does he want?" Amy shook her head, "Has he issued some kind of demand?"

"He says he wants us to give him 'the alien doctor,'" Isaac shrugged.

"But that's you," Amy turned to look at the Doctor, "Why would he want to kill you? Unless he's met you."

"And how could he know we'd be here?" Rory agreed, "WE didn't even know we'd be here."

"We were aiming for Mexico," Amy explained to Isaac, "They were taking us to see the Day of the Dead Festival."

"Mexico's 200 miles due south," Isaac told them, amused.

Mac frowned when she saw the lights flickering above them, "Don't bother blaming it on the toast crumbs in the console," Mac called to the Doctor as he opened his mouth to do just that."

"Fine," he mock-huffed, "Anyway, I think it's about time we met him, don't you?"

"Who?" Isaac blinked.

The Doctor grinned, "The chap outside said I could be the alien doctor, but you said I wasn't. So you already know who it is. Two alien Doctors! We're like buses."

"He's probably the 81st resident then," Mac nodded.

"So beloved by the townsfolk, he warranted an alteration to the sign. Probably because he rigged up these electrics. And I'm guessing he's in here because if half the town suddenly wanted to throw me to my death... this is where I'd want to be."

"I don't know what you..." Isaac began, striding towards the Doctor as he headed for the cell.

Only for the man inside it to speak, "It's alright, Isaac. I think the time for subterfuge has passed," he pushed the blanket off him and slowly got up. He was a smaller man in professional attire, a rather fine suit, with glasses on his face and a squiggling teal tattoo on his face, "Good afternoon. My name i…"

"Oh my god you're a Kahler!" Mac gaped at him, the Doctor chuckling at the excitement and awe in her voice.

The man smiled, "Yes, I am Kahler-Jex. I'm the doctor."

~8~

"Oh my god I can't believe it!" Mac gushed, the Doctor really trying very hard to keep his laughter back as he watched Mac's excitement grow, "The Kahler! You're my second favorite species!"

"Second?" Jex blinked.

"Well, the Lammasteen come first," she shook his hand, "But you, you're just as brilliant! I've read all about you, you could build a spaceship out of Tupperware and moss! Ooh that's just fantastic! I'm just…tickled!"

"And about to break his arm off," the Doctor joked seeing her 'pulling a him' and shaking the man's hand vigorously so he reached out and gently tugged her back.

"But he's a Kahler!" Mac gestured at Jex, making Jex smile, "That's just…he's…oh my god! I can't believe I finally met a Kahler!"

The Doctor shook his head at that, the Kahler were quite similar to the Lammasteen in their ingenuity and genius, he really should have thought of taking her to Kahler, the planet, first instead of this happening, just to see her grin, to see them in action so to speak, but this was just as well. Her smile, the way her eyes were lighting up, this was just…all he could have ever asked for. Her eyes sparkling like that was just like how his eyes lit up when he was around sweets.

"That's great and all," Amy began slowly, "But how did you get here?"

"My craft," Jex sighed as he moved to sit beside Isaac, "It crashed about a mile or so out of town. I would have died if Isaac and the others hadn't pulled me from the wreckage."

"And then you kept with him and became the town's doctor," Mac realized.

"On my world, I was a surgeon, so it seemed logical and it gave me an opportunity to repay my debt to them."

"Listen to him," Isaac laughed at Jex's modesty, "Talking like it was nothing. Tell them about the cholera," he slapped the man on the back.

"Now, Isaac, I'm sure our guests aren't..."

"Oh I am," Mac cut in, "Very, VERY interested. Please, do tell."

Jex smiled faintly as he looked at the eager and excited and curious expression on Mac's face. He could tell that she and the Doctor were aliens, that much was obvious by how the town had thought HE might be the alien Doctor instead of Jex. The way he and Mac talked, it gave that impression as well and it was one thing for the town to think him amazing and brilliant, the simple humans, but it was another for someone as clever as them to be impressed with him.

"Two years after he arrived," Isaac began, "There was an outbreak of cholera. Thanks to the doc here not a single person died."

"That's amazing," Mac smiled.

Jex blushed at the praise and shrugged, "A minor infection we'd found a treatment for centuries ago."

"No, no, no," Isaac continued, "What do you call them? The lectricks?"

"Using my ship as a generator, I was able to rig up some rudimentary heating and lighting for the town."

"Brilliant," Mac shook her head, even if it was a bit simple to her, it was a KAHLER!

"So why does the Gunslinger want you?" the Doctor had to ask, not quite sure what a man who had done so much good could have done to incur the wrath of a the Gunslinger.

"It don't matter," Isaac looked away.

"I'm just saying, if we knew..."

"America's a land of second chances," Isaac explained, "We called this town Mercy for a reason. Others... Some round here don't feel that way."

"Yes, your welcome sign doesn't quite feel that way either," Mac remarked.

"Now, Isaac," Jex sighed, "We've discussed this…"

"People whose lives you saved are suddenly saying we should hand you over," Isaac argued.

"They're scared, that's all. You can hardly blame them."

"Them being scared, scares me. War only ended five years back. That old violence is still under the surface. We give up Doc Jex, then we're handing the keys of the town over to chaos."

"Were you not able to repair your ship?" Mac asked, a small frown making its way to her face, if there was enough of the ship to create the electrics there should have been enough to make a rudimentary distress call or something like that.

"It really was very badly damage," Jex looked away, making both Mac and the Doctor look at each other for it, their smiles starting to fade at the blatant lie.

"We evacuate the town," the Doctor determined, "Our ship's just over the hills. Room for everyone. Kenzie and I'll pop out, bring it back here. Robert's your uncle."

"Me and you?" Mac looked at him.

He smiled and took her hand, pressing a kiss to the back of it, "No more splitting up," he reminded her.

"And its' as simple as that?" Amy scoffed, "No crazy schemes? No negotiations?"

"I've matured," the Doctor stuck his nose up before sticking out his tongue at her.

"Hardly," Mac laughed, "1,200 years old and I still have to force him to eat his vegetables."

"If they were meant to be eaten they'd taste better!" the Doctor huffed, turning to head for the door, putting the Stetson on his head in the process.

"Oh, so you're not even a tiny bit curious?" Amy called.

"Why would I be curious?" he rolled his eyes, "It's a mysterious space cowboy assassin. Curious? Of course I'm not curious."

"Son?" Isaac called just before the Doctor could step out of the office, "You've still got to get past the Gunslinger. How you going to do that?"

"Little trick we learned from Houdini," Mac smiled, "Misdirection."

~8~

The Doctor tugged Mac along down the small lane of the town towards the first horse he could see, being hitched to a post by the Preacher, "Can we borrow your horse, please?" he asked, taking the reins from the man without waiting for a response, getting on quickly, "It's official Marshall business," he added, holding out a hand to Mac to help her on behind him. The Ponds would be relatively safe, Amy staying with Jex, Rory with Isaac, and her with him, so there was nothing to worry about really, Rory would have Isaac to look after him and it was their plan to eventually distract the Gunslinger and draw his attention away from Rory and Isaac, the latter of whom would be wearing Jex's hat and coat to try and give them enough time to get out of the town without the Gunslinger after THEM.

"He's a lovely horse," Mac smiled as she got on behind the Doctor.

"He's called Joshua," the Preacher smiled, patting the horse, "It's from the Bible. It means 'The Deliverer.'"

The Doctor smiled as well when the horse neighed, but for a different reason, "No, he isn't."

"What?"

"Called Joshua," Mac elaborated, "That's not his name, or not the one he wants anyway."

"We speak horse," the Doctor added, "He's called Susan. And he wants you to respect his life choices."

Before the Preacher could even speak about it the Doctor spurred the horse on, the two of them galloping out of the town, the Doctor beaming as Mac clung to him tightly not having expected such a sudden jolt off.

"Slow down!" Mac called as they raced along the desert.

"Less fun that way!" the Doctor grinned.

Mac rolled her eyes, "I meant slow down because I think I see something," she told him and the Doctor quickly slowed the horse, making Susan neigh, "Yes," Mac laughed, "We are in a hurry, but there's something out there." She quickly got off the horse and rushed off, the Doctor close behind as she picked up a wire that was running along the desert. One end led to town, the other further off.

"Oi, don't swear," the Doctor called back to Susan when she whinnied, "Come on," he took Mac's hand, "Let's see where this leads," he hurried them back to the horse and they were off again, running along the wire to the other end where there was something covered in a sort of tarp, "Yes," he answered Susan as he dismounted and moved to help Mac down too, "I wear a Stetson now."

Mac just headed right for the tarp and pulled it back to reveal an egg-shaped white ship beneath it, "Exactly," Mac nodded as Susan snorted, "It's definitely NOT damaged," she looked at the Doctor, frowning, "Why would Jex lie?"

"Let's find out," he hopped onto the top and started to feel around for the entrance, knocking on it and humping on it and slapping it…even trying a karate chop before…

"You DO realize you've got a sonic, yes?" Mac asked, standing there with her arms crossed, amused.

"Right, yes," he blushed, pulling out the sonic and flashing it around, "Arg!" he winced as an alarm went off, "Sonic bad, bad sonic!" he rushed round, trying to use the sonic to turn off the alarms while Mac scrambled onto the deck to help, hopping down into the ship to try that instead.

"Oi!" Mac called up to him, "Get in!" he quickly dropped in behind her as she'd landed on a seat and he flashed the computer screen before them.

"Security breach," the monitor flickered on, "You have ten seconds to enter the pass-code or this vehicle will self-destruct."

"Wonderful," Mac bit her lip.

The Doctor leaned over her shoulder, flashing the sonic around, quickly trying to short it out.

But the computer just continued, "Thank you for choosing Abaraxas Security Software. Incinerating intruders for three centuries. Nine, eight, seven…" he nearly dropped his head onto the back of hers when the sonic got it shorted, "Self-destruct over-ridden."

"Brilliant," Mac turned and gave him a peck.

He smiled at that, but looked around warily, "This is an awful lot of security for a titchy spacecraft..."

"Awaiting command," the computer cut in.

"Are there any files related to 'the Gunslinger?'" Mac asked.

"File not found. Please choose from: Technical Specifications, Flight Recorder, Personal Files, Maps and Charts."

The Doctor considered the options, "Personal files of Doctor Kahler-Jex."

What they saw next when Jex's face appeared on the monitor and began talking about deceased 'subjects' broke their hearts.

~8~

Mac scrambled out of the ship, nearly falling off the side of it as she hurried for the desert ground, falling to her knees as she emptied the contents of her stomach onto the sand, the Doctor landing beside her, his hand on her back, his other holding her hair away from her, whispering comforts in her ear to try and calm her shaking. But he knew it was useless, what they'd seen…it was truly terrible and for Mac…to see one of the Kahler, someone of a species she'd partially idolized was just devastating.

Jex had been experimenting on his own people, no, not experimenting, murdering them, turning their bodies into cyborgs, destroying all sense of humanity (Kahlerity?) in them for the sake of making soldiers. And the Gunslinger was one of them, the last one. They had watched as countless Kahler died on the operating tables, as they screamed in pain of their conversions, as they ended up emotionless robots intent to follow orders. It was hitting them both especially hard as…River. While she hadn't been made into a cyborg, she'd essentially nearly been destroyed from the inside out, turned into a killer and a weapon and had her humanity erased to make way for that. And she was their daughter, all those Kahler, they were someone's child! And Jex had…he and the other so-called doctors, they'd…

They couldn't even speak of it, it was just…horrendous.

The Doctor stiffened, hearing a click behind them and looked over his shoulder to see the Gunslinger had followed them, clearly he'd heard the alarms going off and knew what it was.

"Don't shoot," he murmured, still rubbing circles on Mac's back, "We know," he looked at the man sadly, nodding his head in Mac's direction, "We clearly know."

The Gunslinger looked at Mac for a moment, seeing the puddle of sick beside her and lowered his weapon.

"What we don't understand is why you haven't just walked into the town and killed him?"

The Gunslinger was silent a moment, "People will get in the way."

Mac let out a breath, closing her eyes at that, "You don't want them hurt," she murmured, "You don't want them hurt like you were."

It wasn't a question but the Gunslinger answered anyway, "No."

"If you want justice, you deserve it," the Doctor agreed, "We can put him on trial and…"

"When he starts killing YOUR people, you can use YOUR justice," the man cut in, "No more warning shots. I'll kill the next person to step over that line. Make sure it's Jex," he warned before turning to walk away.

"He's right," Mac breathed, "We can't hold Jex accountable by human or even Time Lord law…it has to be the Kahler way," she looked at him, "Just like with Margaret the Slitheen."

She'd read the files, Mickey's account of it, how Margaret had wanted to avoid going home, knowing what the penalties were, but the Doctor had insisted they go anyway, because she was Slitheen and her own people should judge her. This was not a human matter no matter how involved the humans were, this was between the Kahler and they both knew…what Jex had done…it was well within the Gunslinger's rights to kill him on the spot. The Kahler believed deformation of the body was a sin and a heinous crime, the only markings allowed to mar the skin of a Kahler was their tattoo.

"Why would he do it?" Mac whimpered, shaking her head, feeling tears in her eyes, all the excitement she'd felt at meeting Jex...it was twisting in her gut painfully, to be THAT excited to meet a man who had done something like that...it was sickening. She knew that the Doctor had killed people in the past, but he at least did it as humanely as possible, instantly, like with Gallifrey or Solomon or Amy-the-Flesh, he didn't want to cause harm as a Doctor...and yet Jex...he'd stood there as all those people.

"I don't know," the Doctor pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly as she cried, feeling his hearts break for her, "But I intend to find out."

~8~

Mac was still shaking and far too pale when they arrived back at the jail to see Isaac and Rory confronting Jex with Amy standing beside them, "It was stupid of me," the man was saying, "I realize that now. I just thought I'd put you all in enough danger, perhaps if I left..."

"Stop lying," Mac whispered, her voice soft yet they all heard her, "Please…just stop lying."

Jex frowned, "I haven't lied."

"Haven't you?" the Doctor scoffed, helping Mac sit on a barrel near the door, keeping her far away from Jex as he stormed over to the man, feeling anger swirling in him to see how far away Mac had come from her original excitement, she'd been beaming before and now she was holding back tears and it was all because of that man in front of him, "Every word. Everything he says, it's... all... lies. This man is a murderer."

"I am a scientist!"

"Sit down," the Doctor glared at him, "SIT DOWN!" he snapped, his voice a roar that made even Amy jump but Jex sat, "Tell them what you are."

"What am I?" Jex let out a bitter laugh, "A war hero."

"OK, somebody want to tell me what's going on?" Isaac cut in, seeing the Doctor's glare turn murderous.

"He's a cyborg," Mac told them quietly, looking at Jex as though he'd betrayed her, "The Gunslinger. He was a man, and Jex turned him into a cyborg."

"A what?"

"It's a person with machinery fused to their body," Mac offered in a way he'd understand, "You cut off an arm, you attach a gun, you gouge out an eye you put in a telescope…" she closed her eyes feeling sick at the thought of it again.

"The Gunslinger was a weapon that Jex built," the Doctor said, a harsh tone in his voice, "He and his team took volunteers, told them they'd be selected for special training, then experimented on them, fused their bodies with weaponry and programmed them to kill!"

"Ok, why?" Isaac frowned at Jex, "Why would you do that, doc?"

Jex rubbed his head, "We'd been at war for nine years. A war that had already decimated half of our planet. Our task was to bring peace, and we did. We built an army that routed the enemy and ended the war in less than a week."

"That doesn't give you the right to play god!" Mac snapped.

"Do you want me to repent? To beg forgiveness for saving millions of lives?!"

"What about the ones whose lives you ENDED?" she shook her head, "All those 'test subjects' all those women and men and children…the ones who died, the ones who didn't survive? And what about the subjects that did? You killed even THEM in the end!"

"War is another world. You cannot apply the politics of peace to what I did, to what any of us did."

The Doctor shook his head and moved over to Mac, needing to be by her, comforting her or else he'd lash out and likely try to strangle the man.

"But…if you killed the subjects that did survive," Rory frowned, "How come the Gunslinger's here? How come you're here?"

Jex sighed, "When the war ended, we had the cyborgs decommissioned. But one of them must have got its circuitry damaged in battle. It went offline and began hunting down the team that created it, until just two of us were left. We fled and our ships crashed here."

The Doctor closed his eyes and moved closer to Mac, "Are you ok?" he murmured to her as the humans spoke quietly behind him, "Kenzie?"

Mac just closed her eyes for a moment, "I can see them," she whispered, opening her eyes, "Every time I close my eyes I see them on those tables and…" she shook her head, "We know of a worse hell than the Kahler war and not even Gallifrey resorted to that. Even the final sanction would have been instant to other life forms…"

He nodded, kissing her head, "I know."

"I just…he was a Kahler," she looked up at him, taking his hand, he was one of the species that had inspired her own creations and interests and then…to see how dark it had gone? She had been tasked to the weapons factories also because of her skill in making things from smaller, unused parts. But she never ever forced her creations on a human, she never fused it to them or cut into them to get it to work.

"Doctor, tell him!" they heard Amy call and looked over.

"What?" he shook his head before he saw that they were all looking at him for an answer or agreement or something, "Yes. I don't know. Whatever Amy said."

"I prefer what Rory says," Mac told him quietly.

The Doctor had just opened his mouth to joke about it, lighten her spirits, when Jex spoke again, "Looking at you, Doctor," the man mused, cleaning his glasses, "Is like looking into a mirror. Almost. There's rage there, like me. Guilt, like me. Solitude. Everything but the nerve to do what needs to be done. Thank the Gods my people weren't relying on you to save them..."

And the Doctor lunged, "No, NO!" he grabbed Jex by the front of his shirt and hauled him to his feet, "But these people are!" before he shoved him out the door and through the streets, "OUT! OUT! OUT!"

Mac bit her lip, debating whether to stop the Doctor or the Ponds, Isaac and the Ponds all running out before she forced herself to get up and follow, catching up to them right as the Doctor threw Jex over the line and into the desert. He turned to grab a gun off a nearby man, aiming and cocking it at Jex when he tried to return to the town.

"You wouldn't," Jex's eyes narrowed.

"I genuinely don't know…" the Doctor glared.

"Doctor," Isaac tried to get through, "Doctor," but Mac pulled him back, about to speak when another gun went off and Amy was holding on up in the air…before turning it on the Doctor.

"Let him come back, Doctor!" Amy threatened.

"Or what?" the Doctor scoffed, "You won't shoot me, Amy!"

"How do you know?! Maybe I've changed," she cocked the gun again, "You've clearly been taking stupid lessons since I saw you last," she waved the gun around, accidently setting it off and firing at the ground, "I didn't mean to do that!" before she did it again, making them all flinch and duck.

"Ok, everyone who isn't an American, drop your gun!" Isaac shouted.

"Amy this isn't about changing," Mac stepped up to the Doctor, her back to his back, blocking him so he could focus on Jex, the Gunslinger in the distance, walking closer, "This is about justice."

"How is throwing a man to his death justice?!" Amy shook her head, "This is not how we roll, and you know it. What's happened to you both? When did killing someone become an option?"

"When the Kahler made their government," Mac told her, "Amy…this is NOT a human matter, this is NOT a human concern, and this is NOT a human crime. This is Kahler territory and their laws and crimes and punishments are vastly different than humans. On their planet, what Jex did, it's the worst crime imaginable. The Gunslinger is entirely in the right, by their laws and customs, to demand Jex's life as recompense."

"But we're not on Kahler," Amy argued.

"This is a Kahler crime, this is between two Kahler and this HAPPENED on Kahler," Mac shook her head, "Amy there are numerous cases where a criminal flees one country and hides in another. Do you know what that host country tends to end up doing? Returning the criminal to the hands of the country the crime took place in so that the criminal can be dealt with by THEIR laws. This is what is happening. Jex committed a crime on Kahler, he fled to Earth, that does NOT give him Asylum by the laws of the Kahler. If the Gunslinger returns and his crimes are made known, you will have an ARMY at the edge of your town. Thousands of Kahler coming and they will destroy ALL of you to get to Jex," she looked at Isaac, "You really want the children to be massacred because you prevented justice from being served?"

"Jex HAS to answer for his crimes," the Doctor agreed.

"So what then?" Amy tried once more to get through to them, to try and convince them to give Jex asylum, if…if the Gunslinger was going to return home and gather an army, he'd have done it first, "You going to hunt down everyone who's made a gun, a bullet or a bomb?"

"They keep coming back," the Doctor breathed, "Don't you see? Every time I negotiate, I try to understand. Well, not today! No! Today I honor the victims first! His, the Master's, the Daleks', all the people who died because of MY MERCY!"

"And how many people has your mercy saved?" Amy countered softly, "Listen to me, Doctor, we can't be like him. We have to be better than him."

"Amy…if you want us to do this," Mac began, looking at Amy with a firm look, "This will be on YOU, do you understand that? If this gets back to Kahler, YOU will be held accountable for the intrusion of justice and the Doctor and I…we won't be able to help you then."

Amy swallowed hard, "I know."

The Doctor sighed, shaking his head, not wanting to do this, because the Gunslinger was right, this was not their place to decide what justice should be dealt to Jex if not his own, it was a Kahler crime and a Kahler punishment and they were about to get too involved, "Fine..." he huffed, lowering his hand, "We think of something else. But frankly, I'm betting on the Gunslinger."

Mac looked over, seeing the Gunslinger was already nearly there, "Jex move over the line."

But Jex froze, the Gunslinger already right behind him and holding his weapon arm to the back of Jex's head, waiting till he turned to face him before stating, "Make peace with your gods."

Jex let out a breath, "Kahler-Tek, isn't it? I remember all your names, even now. Please. I'd never hurt anyone again. I'm even helping people here."

"Last chance," the Gunslinger remarked stoically, "Make peace with your gods."

"No!" Isaac cried as the weapon powered up, rushing forward to push Jex out of the way when he realized the Doctor wasn't going to, getting shot instead. He fell to the ground, grunting in pain as the Doctor and Mac rushed over to him, kneeling by his side.

"Isaac?" Mac frantically checked his wound as the Doctor scanned him, "Can you hear me? Isaac just hold on…"

"It's ok, it's ok," the Doctor added, "You'll be ok…"

But Isaac just grabbed the Doctor's arm, "Listen to me, you've got to stay, you've got to look after everyone."

"It won't come to that, Isaac."

"Protect Jex," he pleaded with his last few breaths, "Protect my town. You're both good men... You just forget it sometimes..." he pressed something into the Doctor's hand with his last bit of strength before it ebbed out of him, the man dying before their eyes.

The Doctor swallowed hard and looked at the item in his hand, the marshal badge. He pinned it to his lapel and stood, the townspeople staring in shock at all that had happened, "Take Jex to his cell," he ordered, "If anything happens to him, you'll have me to answer to," he waited till a few men turned to lead Jex away before he faced the Gunslinger, "This has gone on long enough."

"You are right," the Gunslinger agreed, "You've got until noon tomorrow. Give him to me, or I'll kill you all."

Mac frowned, watching as the Gunslinger turned and walked off, teleporting away before she stepped over to the Doctor and hugged him tightly, both of them feeling regret for not being able to help Isaac and for not staying true to their original plan to surrender Jex to his Kahler fate.

"Oh, my God," Amy called, trying to lighten the mood, "You're the marshal."

He nodded, "Now I just need a deputy," he looked at Amy sadly, shaking his head at her, before he turned to Mac, "What do you say Kenzie?"

Mac nodded slowly, understanding, he didn't trust Amy at the moment.

~8~

The Doctor was sitting beside Mac on the barrel by the door, his arm around her shoulders as she leaned on him, seeking comfort and he felt horrible. The adventure had started so nicely, meeting Jex, a Kahler, in the old west and just…well, that was a first, instead of escalating it sort of just all went down from there. He hated that, he hated seeing her sad and he hated Jex even more for making her sad in the first place.

He looked over when the door opened and the Preacher walked in, greeting them all politely, before he looked at the Doctor, solemn, "You need to come outside."

"Why?" he frowned, "What's wrong?"

"Just…come outside. And you should put that on," he nodded to a holster on the wall above them.

The Doctor frowned but did as he was instructed, putting the holster on, hoping it was more for show and that he was the new marshal than a fear that he'd need to use it. They all stepped out onto the porch to see that what appeared to be half the town had gathered outside, nearly separated into two factions.

"What's going on?" he asked.

The young man from the saloon stepped forward, fidgeting nervously, "He in there? Leave the keys and take your lady friend for a nice sarsaparilla in the saloon. Time you get back, this'll all be done."

The Doctor shook his head, "I promised Isaac I'd protect him."

"Protecting him got Isaac dead. Tomorrow it's going to get us all dead."

"We thought Isaac was right to fight," another man agreed, " But it's different now. We've got to say, 'Alright, we lost,' and give that thing what it wants."

"What it wants is to kill our friend!" the bartender shouted.

"Look, we don't got ill feelin' toward the doc," the young man defended, "We just thinkin' 'bout our families. Hand him over and we all safe again."

"You really have such little faith in us as protectors?" Mac sighed as she looked at the humans, "We've dealt with worst than Jex and the Gunslinger, we'll keep you all safe. Even if it means keeping Jex safe too."

"We can't just hand him over," the Doctor agreed.

"Then we got us a problem," the young man pushed aside his coat, showing them he had his own holster on.

"Seriously?" Mac scoffed, "We've been in a war, we've been shot at and poisoned and irradiated and you think a silly little gun will scare us? What are you 15?"

"Nearly 19," the boy huffed.

"So 18 then," the Doctor shook his head, slowly heading down the steps towards the mob, "Too young to have fought in the war, so I'm guessing you've never shot anyone before, have you?"

"First time for everything," the boy narrowed his eyes and cocked his gun at the Doctor.

"But that's how all this started. Jex turned someone into a weapon. Now that same story is going to make you a killer too. Don't you see? Violence doesn't end violence, it extends it. I don't think you want to do this. I don't think you want to become that man."

The young man swallowed hard, "There's kids here."

"We're well aware," Mac called, "And they'll be safe," she promised, crossing her hearts, "Neither the Gunslinger nor Jex will hurt them."

"Is he really worth the risk?"

"I don't know," the Doctor said honestly, "But _you_ are," he smiled, watching as the young man backed down and walked away, the rest of the town departing with him. He let out a long, weary sigh before he made his way over to Mac, pecking her on the lips, "Frightened people," he wound his arms around her, "Give me a Dalek any day."

"I'd rather deal with the people," she commented, "So long as they're not on busses eh?"

He smiled at that, tapping his nose to hers before they headed back into the jail.

"Fresh coffee, Marshall," the Undertaker was already in there waiting with a small cup in his hand, "For what it's worth, I know you're going to save us. Isaac made you Marshall for a reason, and if you're good enough for him, you're good enough for me. Reckon you should know that."

"Thank you," the Doctor toasted, taking a sip of the coffee before handing it to Mac so he could get the holster off…and then he felt the man taking his measurements again, "Oi! Get out of it!"

"Let me guess," Jex called when the Undertaker left, "The good folk of Mercy wanted me to take a little stroll into the desert. You could turn a blind eye. No one would blame you. You'd be a hero."

"Being a hero in that context is the same as being YOUR sort of hero," Mac shook her head, "We don't want that, either of us."

"Because then Isaac's death would mean nothing," the Doctor agreed, "Just another casualty in your endless, bloody war! Do you want me to hand you over?! Is that what you want?! Do you even know?!"

"You think I'm unaffected by what I did?" Jex sat up, "That I don't hear them screaming every time I close my eyes? It would be so much simpler if I was just one thing, wouldn't it? The mad scientist who made that killing machine, or the physician who has dedicated his life to serving this town. The fact that I'm both bewilders you."

"It doesn't bewilder us," Mac rubbed her head, "We know there are many facets to a person. What bewilders us is that you think it's right, what you did."

"We see this reformation for what it really is," the Doctor nodded, "You committed an atrocity and chose this as your punishment. Don't get me wrong, good choice. Civilized hours, lots of adulation, nice weather. But, BUT, justice doesn't work like that. You don't get to decide when and how your debt is paid!"

Jex was silent a moment longer, "In my culture, we believe that when you die your spirit has to climb a mountain, carrying the souls of everyone you wronged in your lifetime. Imagine the weight I will have to lift. The monsters I created, the people they killed. Isaac. He was my friend. Now his soul will be in my arms, too. Can you see now why I fear death? You want to hand me over. There's no shame in that. But you won't. We all carry our prisons with us. Mine is my past, yours is your morality."

"'We all carry our prisons with us,'" the Doctor mocked sourly as Jex turned his back and laid down.

"At least it's not an 80s hotel this time," Mac tried to lighten his mood, earning a small smile from him for her efforts.

~8~

Noon came all too quickly for the Time Lords and soon enough it was time for them to face the Gunslinger, as marshal and deputy they were both standing in front of the bank, the clock tower behind them striking noon and they could hear it, a displacement of air as the Gunslinger arrived. They waited till the man had just reached them, both sides hesitating…before quick drawing, the Doctor whipping out his sonic and setting off a loud screech above them that had the Gunslinger covering his ears and hunching over, giving them time to run and set their plan in motion.

Mac pulled the Doctor behind one of the buildings, pulling out a small kit and quickly trying to paint the tattoo Jex wore on the Doctor's face much like the other men had. They were all going to run around with a close but not identical squiggle on their faces, distracting the Gunslinger till Jex could get out of the town and back to his ship and leave, taking the Gunslinger with him. They winced, hearing a small explosion and a scream and ran back the way they came, nearly running right into Jex just after Amy had been tasked to let him out of his cell.

"Get out of here!" Mac pushed him on.

"Go!" the Doctor agreed, "Just GO! We can't save them while you're here!" he took Mac's hand and they ran back for the main part of town to see the Gunslinger turning away from the chapel where the children and women had been hiding, thankfully no one seeming too hurt. They waited as long as they could, watching the other men dashing about but when the Gunslinger seemed about ready to truly open fire, they rushed out.

"Where is he!?" the Gunslinger demanded, aiming his gun on them.

"He's fled," Mac told him.

"WHERE?!" but they were silent, "ANSWER ME!"

"Away from here," the Doctor stepped before Mac, blocking and defending her, "Look up. Any second now you'll see the vapor trail of his ship. This is their home, not the backdrop for your revenge! Look up. Go after him, take this battle away from..."

He was cut off suddenly by the sound of radio feedback coming from the street lamps, Jex's voice ringing out above it, "Kahler-Tek. Kahler-Tek."

"Jex?" the Gunslinger growled, "Coward! Where are you?!"

"I'm in my ship."

"Jex, what are you doing?!" Mac cried.

"Where are you from? Where on Kahler?"

"Now?" the Doctor scoffed, "You're asking him this NOW?!"

"Gabrean," the Gunslinger answered.

Jex sighed, "I know it. It's beautiful there. When this is over, will you go back?"

"How can I? I am a monster now."

"So am I."

"Jex whatever you're doing just stop and go!" Mac tried.

"I will find you," the Gunslinger warned, "If I have to tear this universe apart, I will find you."

"I don't doubt that," Jex agreed, "You'll chase me to another planet...And another race will be caught in the crossfire."

"THEN FACE ME! FACE ME!"

"No. You've killed enough. I'm ending the war for you, too."

"What's going on?" the Doctor stiffened, hearing a soft countdown starting, "That countdown! What's going ON! JEX!"

"Thank you," Jex called to them, "But I have to face the souls of those I wronged. Perhaps they will be kind."

And then, a moment later, there was an explosion out in the desert, Jex's ship blowing up in a self-destruct, the smoke visible rising into the sky behind the buildings.

"He behaved with honor at the end," the Gunslinger bowed his head, "Maybe more than me."

"We could take you back to your world," the Doctor offered.

"We'll help you," Mac agreed, "With the reconstruction. Anything you need."

But the Gunslinger just turned and walked off, "I will walk into the desert and self-destruct. I am a creature of war. I have no role to play during peace."

"Except maybe to protect it?" the Doctor called.

Mac smiled as the Gunslinger stopped and turned to them, "We won't be staying and this town will need a marshal," she shrugged, seeing a quirk in the Gunslinger's lips as he started to smile, hope restored.

~8~

"Ok!" the Doctor cheered, grinning widely, the sarsaparilla taste still on his tongue, his arm around Mac as they headed for the TARDIS that was now in the middle of the town, "So, our next trip. You know all the monkeys and dogs they sent into space in the '50s and '60s? You'll never guess what really happened to them…"

"Doctor," Mac shook her head, "Getting a bit ahead of yourself. Day of the Dead, and then home for the Ponds, that's what we agreed."

"Right yes," he nodded, "Sorry," he smiled sheepishly at the two humans, having gotten caught up in the excitement, "Another time, a few months more till the next trip," he winked.

"Come on," Mac unlocked the doors, "I'LL set the coordinates this time," she told them, leading the Ponds in, the four of them soon of on their original adventure.

A/N: Longest day of my life lol. Yesterday we were prepping from about 7am till 1am, then I got 2 hours of sleep before we left for the race at 4am...just got to the hotel about 20 minutes ago and checked in. I'm almost half asleep right now lol, but I'm getting this and OUAT posted if it's the last thing I do lol :)

...I just realized that, by the end of 2015 (when I finish TL6 & TL8) it'll take about 7-8 months to get all my OC series up to date after a series of DW ends lol, and that's if I don't make any more Time Ladies :) And...if I don't manage to get to any of the AUs for the Time Ladies by the time DW ever officially ends for good...we'd have about 4 years worth of DW fanfiction still to look forward to after that ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Aww thanks :) I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far :) And that's cool, I'm actually glad that people have different TLs that they favor and don't favor, makes me feel like different TLs appeal to different people in different ways :) I'm not sure if I'd do a Divergent story, only because I've only seen just the one movie and I'd want to see/read all of it first :)

I probably wouldn't do a Fright Night, mostly because I actually liked the original movie more than the remake and even then I wasn't much a fan of Peter or Jerry :/ It was a great movie, but the characters didn't really get to me, and in the remake, I liked that Jerry better but I wasn't really hit with inspiration for an OC for him and Peter was a bit too...sexualized(? if that's the right word) for me to really feel comfortable making an OC for him.

Bit of a different spin on Mac in this chapter :) I felt like the Kahler were close enough to the Lammasteen for HER to be the one freaking out over Jex lol :) I feel like the Doctor gets really excited about everything but Mac needed a moment of complete excitement about meeting someone this time :) I think it made it a bit darker in the end, for the Doctor, to see his Chosen so happy and then so devastated and all because of Jex }:)

Lol, I bet he'd love that trip too :)


	6. The Power of Three

The Power of Three

Of all the things for the TARDIS to pick up on and alert the Time Lords to…a small black box was not one they'd ever thought they'd encounter. But there they were, sitting at a small part, both of them on top of the jungle gym portion, looking a handful over. Yes, a handful, there was more than one, quite a fair few more than one…like billions for instance. So, in a way, while they weren't expecting it, they were quite happy that the TARDIS had alerted them to this abnormal inflow especially when it was considered that the cubes, the tiny black cubes, had appeared at the same time, all over the world in every place in the world, including inside locked rooms.

"Doctor?" they looked over, hearing someone calling for them, "Mac?" and smiled when they saw the Ponds across the street.

They weren't popping in, no just…the TARDIS happened to land in the small park across the street from their home. They had actually tried to avoid landing there, thinking, perhaps, they could see Martha. They had decided when they'd started erasing themselves and making people think they were dead, to allow only a handful of people to know the truth. They each decided to pick one companion to make it even, he'd picked Sarah Jane as she'd taken Martha. But the TARDIS had set them down by the Ponds and, well it had been quite a few months, they supposed they were due for a visit by now though they'd hoped it would be to take them on a trip instead of investigate some boxes.

"Invasion of the very small cubes," the Doctor sighed, "That's new."

"Bit boring though," Mac mused as she tossed one, "At least till we see what they're meant to do."

"Well then," he grinned, taking her hand to help her off the top of the gym, "We'd best work that out then."

~8~

The Time Lords were a bit more concerned/interested when even the TARDIS scanners couldn't seem to work out what the cubes were or what was in them…all it could determine was that they were in fact hollow in the middle. Well, that and a few other rather obvious facts, "All absolutely identical," the Doctor huffed at the scan, "Not a single molecule's difference between them. No blemishes, imperfections, individualities."

"What are you?" Mac shook her head as she held up a magnifying glass to one of them, using as many of her odds an ends as she could to try and see if there was anything in them…so far nothing was working.

Though Brian seemed to take her rhetorical question as an opening to make suggestions, "What if they're bombs? Billions of tiny bombs. Or transport capsules, maybe, with a minirobot inside. Or deadly hard drives. Or alien eggs. Or messages needing decoding. Or they're all parts of a bigger whole. Jigsaw puzzles that need fitting together."

"Brilliant reasoning Brian," she smiled at him.

"Very thorough, Brian," the Doctor pointed at him, "Very, very thorough. Well done. Stay here. Watch these," he plucked the one out of Mac's hands and tossed it to Brian, "Yell if anything happens," before he replaced the cube in her hand with his own hand, walking out of the TARDIS with her, another cube in his other hand as the Ponds followed him.

"Is this an alien invasion?" Amy asked them as soon as they were out of the box, shutting the door to keep Brian safe inside and out of hearing range of the more deadly suggestions, "Because that's what it feels like."

Rory eyed Mac as she moved to the kitchen and began looking around for what seemed like random objects that he was sure she'd probably work into some sort of pieced together scanner of some sort, "There couldn't be life forms in every cube, could there?"

"Could be," Mac nodded, "Seen it before. Actually…" she paused to consider it, "I've seen all of what Brian suggested before."

"We don't know for sure though," the Doctor sighed, "And I really don't like not knowing," he moved into the kitchen, watching as Mac started to fill a pot with water, "We may turn your kitchen into a lab," he warned, "Cook up some cubes, see what happens."

"Right," Rory nodded them on, giving Amy a smug look that SHE would be the one that would have to deal with them if the Doctor accidently blew the house up, "I'm due at work."

"What?" the Doctor spun around, "You've got a job?"

"Of course they do," Mac smiled, "Remember, that was why we were going to the Day of the Dead festival, for Amy's article, and before that there was her modeling job…Amy's not the only one who works dear."

"What do you think we do when we're not with you?" Rory had to wonder.

"I imagine what Kenzie and I do," the Doctor shrugged, "Mostly kissing."

"Doctor!" Mac blushed at that, but he just grinned and kissed her cheek to prove his point.

Rory let out a chuckle at that, "My shift starts in an hour. You don't know where my scrubs are?" he asked Amy that last one.

"In the lounge, where you left them," Amy nodded him off, the Doctor smiling a bit at the domesticity going on before them.

'_We could be like that too, if you want,_' Mac offered, seeing his look.

'_I'd rather not,_' he grimaced.

'_Then you'd best recall where you leave your bowties,_' she reached out and tweaked his tie, '_Otherwise I'll have the TARDIS put a lounge in just so I can have her send them there._'

'_Says the woman with more headbands than she has strands of hair,_' he scoffed playfully, snapping her headband up.

'_Well what do you expect?_' she countered with a teasing grin, '_Hairbands are cool._'

The Doctor beamed widely at that, before he looked at Amy, cleaning up her kitchen table incase they needed the space, "Oh the Ponds. With their house and their jobs and their everyday lives. The journalist and the nurse. Long way from Leadworth."

Amy smiled at that, "We think it's been 10 years by now," she offered, "Not for you or Earth, but for us. 10 years older, 10 years of you. On and off."

"And what a wonderful ten years they were," Mac smiled, "We've still got a long way to go yet though Amy. You won't be rid of us till you want us gone or the weaning ends."

"I know," Amy took a breath, "I'm glad."

The Doctor opened his mouth to say something more when there was the sound of a door bursting open and stomping boots and suddenly men in black uniforms and red caps ran into the house, guns in hand.

"Trap One," one soldier reported, "Kitchen secured."

"Trap three," another called over a radio, "Back garden secured."

"There are soldiers all over my house," Rory huffed as he was led into the room by a soldier at gunpoint, wearing the top half of his scrubs but missing the trousers, "And I'm in my pants."

"My whole life, I've dreamed of saying that, and I miss it by being someone else," Amy smirked at her husband's predicament.

"All these muscles," a woman called from the front, her voice a bit deep, a lovely drawl to it that made Mac stiffen to hear, her eyes widening as she saw a blonde woman in her early 40s enter the room, her hair short, a tan jacket on with her hands casually in her pockets, "And they still don't know how to knock. Sorry about the raucous entrance. Spike in Artron Energy reading at this address. In the light of the last 24 hours, we had to check it out and, uh, the dogs do love a runout," she glanced at the nearest soldier.

Mac just shook her head as she looked at the woman, "Hello Kate."

Kate blinked and looked at her, "Do I know you?"

Mac laughed, "Yeah. I'm glad to see my letter of commendation helped, congratulations on heading up UNIT."

Kate blinked and gaped at her, "Agent Mackenzie!?"

Mac nodded, "Hello."

"Oh my goodness," the woman flushed, "I apologize, I wasn't aware that you'd regenerated…either of you," she glanced between her and the Doctor, her gaze flickering to the bowtie a moment.

Mac shrugged and waved it off, she'd met Kate in her last incarnation and, despite having access to the files about her and the Doctor, she knew Kate, from her experiences with her father, rather wanted to hear stories instead of read files and wanted to make her own impression instead of reading all other accounts. It made sense to her that she wouldn't have looked up their most updated profiles with their new bodies on file.

"Sorry," the Doctor cut in, glancing at Mac, "Kate?"

"Kate Stewart," Mac introduced, "The new head of scientific research at UNIT."

"Really?" the Doctor looked at Kate, impressed, "Tell me, since when did science run the military, Kate?"

"Since me," she smiled proudly, "UNIT's been adapting ever since Agent Mackenzie joined, but I've been heading up the conversion. And by heading up I mean I dragged them along, kicking and screaming, which made it sound like more fun than it actually was."

"What's UNIT know about the cubes?" Mac asked.

"Far less than we need to," Kate sighed, "We've been freighting them in from around the world for testing. So far, we've subjected them to temperatures of 200 degrees Celsius, simulated a water depth of 5 miles, dropped one out of a helicopter at 10,000 feet and rolled our best tank over it. Always intact."

"That's impressive," the Doctor whistled, before pouting, "I don't want them to be impressive. I want them vulnerable, with a nice Achilles's heel."

"We'll find it eventually," Mac patted his shoulder, "Everyone has at least one. I've got 3."

"Three?" he blinked at her.

"Spiders, children/companions, and you," she recited, "Not in that order of course."

"Oi, since when are we children?" Amy frowned.

"How old are you Amy compared to the Doctor and I?" Mac gave her a teasing smile, which made Amy nod.

"Well, I've only got two," the Doctor said proudly.

"Bowties and Daleks?" Amy guessed playfully.

"Children and Kenzie," he countered, considering River among the children given who she was.

Mac blushed a bit at that, before she shook her head, getting them back to the proper topic of conversation, "Have you been able to determine how they got here?"

"No," Kate frowned, "Nor what they're made of or why they're here."

"And all around the world, people are picking them up and taking them home," the Doctor sighed.

"Like iPads have dropped out of the sky. Taking them to work, taking pictures, making films, posting them on Flickr and YouTube. Within 3 hours, the cubes had 1,000 separate Twitter accounts."

"Twitter!" the Doctor made quite a disgusted face at the mention of that.

"And what course of action is UNIT pushing for?" Mac looked at Kate.

"We've recommended we treat this as a hostile incursion," Kate explained, "Gather them all up and lock them in a secure facility, but that would take massive international agreement and cooperation."

"So we need proof then," Mac sighed, "Proof they're dangerous so others will listen."

"The cubes arrived in plain sight," the Doctor remarked, "In vast quantities, as the sun rose. So what does that tell us?"

"Maybe they wanted to be seen, noticed?" Amy suggested.

"Well, more than that. They want to be observed. So we observe them. Stay with them, round the clock. Watch the cubes," he leaned over and grabbed one off the counter, tossing it and catching it, "Day and night. Record absolutely everything about them. Team cube, in it together!" he kissed the cube before grimacing, wiping his lips on his arm, and turning to kiss Mac instead.

"Well that's quite new," Kate smiled at the sight, last she recalled speaking to Mac, she'd have rather glued the man's lips shut than have her own glued to his.

"Times change," was all Mac could shrug out, "And sometimes for the better."

The Doctor beamed at that.

~8~

The Doctor, as it turned out, did NOT do observation over days and nights very well…the stationary positions of just…sitting there and watching something and let time move slowly around you. If Amy and Mac thought that the Doctor dealing with Vincent Van Gogh had been bad…it was nothing compared to how he'd been after 4 days of staring at the cubes. He'd completely lost what little patience he had, much to Mac's amusement though. He'd gotten all huffy about sitting there before he'd dashed off to try doing other things, like paint the fence and play football, mow the lawn and work on the car, vacuum the house…but it was all too little too late and he'd been itching to leave, to go somewhere and just do something, have an 'adventure to restore sanity' or something along those lines. He'd slipped in saying he wanted the Ponds to come, but they had lives and jobs and they couldn't just drop it all to rush off, especially knowing his timing and how abysmal it was. They'd finally started to be able to commit to things, to get their friends to believe they wouldn't disappear for months on end, they couldn't risk it either.

The Doctor had pouted for a moment, till Mac had whispered something in his ear that had him actually eager to kick the humans out of the TARDIS, much to her amusement and their confusion. Amy could guess though, what Mac had suggested the two Time Lords do to help him expel his excess energy in order to focus on the upcoming adventures.

The months that followed, while ordinary for the Ponds, did consist of periodically calling the TARDIS, more than they normally did, to try and keep the Time Lords up to date about the cubes. Usually they tried not to contact the Doctor or Mac until the designated time period had elapsed but with the potential threat the cubes were, they'd agreed to put that aside and just call whenever something was determined about the cubes. 9 months in and they were declared provisionally safe.

The Ponds, however, weren't quite so safe when their anniversary rolled around and the Doctor and Mac appeared to both offer their congratulations…and apologize for how the Doctor had acted. And of course, in the Doctor's mind, apologize meant take them on an adventure to make up for it. He had actually tried though, to make it a decent one, an 'anniversaryish' themed one, taking them to the Savoy Hotel right after it opened to have a nice night…and found a Zygon ship underneath it and about half the staff replaced by the aliens…

So he'd tried a few other trips to make up for that one, always seeming to add on another trip and another trip to try and make up for the ones before that. When Amy accidently married Henry VIII, that was when Mac decided they should probably head back to the modern era for safety

And there they were, standing in the back of the Pond's sitting room as they watched Amy and Rory share a toast with their friends, back only a few minutes after they'd left, the humans all enjoying the celebrations. The Doctor smiled and put his arm around Mac as they watched, thinking, for a moment, about them and if they would ever get married. Often, on Gallifrey, couples would wed, to be Contracted or Chosen was merely a title for the afterwards of the ceremony. Both of them had been married, had been Contracteds, both didn't have the best memories of being married in general. And both were more than a little apprehensive to consider marrying each other at that thought, if their marriage went as badly as their first marriages, even though they were Chosens this time, they didn't want to think about it. To them, marriage meant pressure and expectation and they'd rather just remain Chosens. That was enough for them and, besides, their people were no longer there, it wasn't as though they'd have to explain that they weren't married, using something like Chosens might just imply some sort of marriage to other species anyway.

"How long were they away?" a voice asked from beside them and they turned to see Brian walk over to them, speaking to them quietly.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Brian," the Doctor lifted his nose a bit.

Brian just gave him a look, "Because they're wearing totally different clothes from earlier."

"What magnificent attention to detail," Mac smiled, "It was seven weeks before I could convince this one to let me take them back."

"I just wanted to make up for the Zygons," the Doctor pouted.

Brian shook his head, not about to ask what a Zygon was, but had to wonder, "What happened to the other people who traveled with you?" he couldn't help it, his son had left with his wife for a few minutes and come back apparently 7 weeks later! His son could have wandered off for five minutes and…and never come back, and he'd never know! From what Rory had told him of the Doctor's piloting, five minutes could end up being 14 years. And he'd be there, on Earth, going frantic for years on end and to Rory it was 5 minutes, or vice versa. So much could happen in the span of seconds for him and he'd be left unknowing, either hopeful or distressed.

"Some left me," the Doctor answered quietly, "Some got left behind, and some, not many, but…some died. Not them. Not them, Brian. Never them."

"We try," Mac looked at the Ponds, "We try our hardest to protect them and…we've done good so far," she didn't dare mention the fact that Rory had already died and been erased from time to his father, "We've been taking more precautions than before, split up so one of us is with each of them or there's always someone with them to watch their back. We're trying."

The Doctor kissed her temple, with the cubes around and no one knowing what they were, not even them…they'd have to try a bit harder.

Perhaps they could stay with the Ponds a bit longer, just…for peace of mind, make sure they were safe from the cubes.

~8~

And stay they did, much to Amy's amusement, even Rory seemed a little pleased by it. They all knew it would likely not be good for the weaning process, but…as long as they stayed on Earth and it was in a normal setting…it should be fine. And nothing said normal setting like standing in the lounge, playing tennis on the Wii, which was what the Time Lords were currently doing.

"Yes!" Mac cheered as she won the match against the Doctor again, "You are rubbish at this," she laughed, pointing her controller at him.

"Oi, I'm not beaten yet," he pointed back, "Third set, decider," he reminded her, the two of them turning back to the screen…only to see a cube floating in front of them and stiffened.

"Always the moment we actually start having fun," Mac huffed, setting her controller down as the Doctor eyed the box.

"Whatever you are," he warned it, "This planet, these people, are precious to us. And we will defend them to our last breath…" he blinked when it just kept hovering, "Is that all you can do, hover? I had a metal dog could do that."

Mac quickly reached out as the cube opened and what looked like a tube of some sort, though she could recognize it as the barrel of a gun, appeared. She pulled the Doctor to the ground as it fired at them, the blast going over their heads as they scrambled to hide behind the sofa. The Doctor peeked at it from under the sofa, but it fired at him again. He grabbed Mac's hand and pulled her out of the room with him, the two bracing themselves against either side of the door waiting for the cube to follow…but it didn't. The Doctor turned, about to peek around the doorframe when Mac held up a hand to stop him, merely using a mirror to look into the room without exposing her face to the cube. It was drifting in front of the TV, seeming to be scanning the information from the internet on it, uploading data likely.

"Doctor!" they could hear Rory shouting, "Mac!" he ran into the room from the kitchen, "Hi. The cube in there, it just opened."

"The cube upstairs just spiked me and took my pulse!" Amy cried as she ran down the stairs.

The Doctor laughed at that, "Really?! Ours fired laser bolts!"

"And now it's surfing the net," Mac added.

"You're never going to believe this," even Brian showed up, rushing into the house from where he'd dashed over, "My cube just moved. It rattled."

Rory opened his mouth to say something when his mobile rang, "Hello?" he frowned, listening to the message, "Ok, I'm on my way," he hung up, "I have to get to work," he told them, "They need all the help they can get."

"Let me come help out," Brian offered.

"Take your dad to work night, brilliant!" Rory smiled, glancing at Amy, "Ok, are you going to be all right here?"

Amy nodded and kissed him, "Keep away from the cubes."

"He will," Mac nodded, "I'll go with him."

"Kenzie…" the Doctor frowned at that, "We agreed not to do that anymore…"

"And we also promised Brian that we'd keep them BOTH safe," Mac reminded him, "Let me do that, you protect Amy, I've got Rory's back," she stepped closer to him, "Please, I'll be in a hospital, safest place to be besides your arms eh?"

He had to smile at that, reaching up to touch her cheek, "Be careful," he murmured, kissing her lightly, resting his forehead to hers, "Please."

"As careful as you are," she smirked.

"Oh that doesn't make me feel better," he pointed at her as she stepped back.

"Then you'd best be very careful too," she pointed right back, winking before she and the Pond men left the house.

~8~

Mac was rushing around the hospital, not so much trying to help or get supplies, but flashing her ID around and ordering the staff, the able-bodied patients, visitors, anyone that she could get to to get the cubes out of there. It had been relatively calm, even with the sudden inflow of people who had gotten hurt by their cubes nicking them or burning them or firing at them, it had been doable…but when the cubes started to count down, THAT was when she'd taken the matter into her control and ordered people to get the cubes out. Countdowns were never good and whether it was a bomb or something else, she didn't want a single cube still in the hospital by the time it reached 0.

She looked over, seeing Rory helping her keep the staff calm while urgently telling them to get the cubes away, "Right, get them out of the building. Just away from here, as far as you can. And get back here before it hits zero," he stopped by his father, reaching past him to gather cubes of his own, "Dad, could you go and get me a box of tape for dressings? It's just the cupboard round the corner."

"Yes, boss," Brian nodded.

"It's alright Brian," Mac patted his shoulder, "I'll get it, if you could just keep an eye on Rory?" she didn't want the man to wander too far away from her or Rory. She rather liked Brian and she wanted to make sure the man was safe, given he was still coping a bit with the whole alien time travel thing. Rory could keep him safe and Brian would do anything to protect Rory, they would be ok for her to rush over and get some tape. With the halls as crowded as they were, she didn't want Brian getting jostled about or lost.

"Thanks," Brian smiled.

She nodded and hurried into the hall, moving around the corner and entering the cupboard, searching for the tape. Oh she had plenty of tapes in her pockets, duct tape, scotch tape, electrical tape, but not medical tapes…perhaps she might nick one small roll…

She straightened and turned, hearing something dash past the door and peeked out to see two orderlies rushing a gurney down the hall, masks over their faces, "Hello?" she called, "Is something wrong? Has someone been hurt?" she couldn't imagine they were though, the hall was relatively empty and there was no one down that hall, just a lift. She frowned when they suddenly stopped and turned back to her, slowly making their way towards her again. She slowly reached back for something, anything she could grab for safety, sensing something off about them.

She was right to prepare for as soon as the men were close enough one lunged out at her, trying to grab her, hissing under his breath, and she turned, slamming the…bed pan? Of all things to grab! But it was effective, the metal bed pan sent the one man falling back into the wall but the other grabbed her, holding her arms pinned to her side as the first man got up and quickly pulled out a syringe.

"No don't!" she shouted, struggling to get away from them…but the man jabbed it into her neck.

The last thing she could recall before her world went black was hoping that whatever it was would just knock her out and not kill her…she rather liked this body, it was fun to tease the Doctor about her being ginger and him not…

~8~

Mac groaned and nearly cried as she felt someone gently shaking her, calling her name as she slowly woke to find herself lying on a small examination table in a rather advanced spaceship, a few other men and women on tables around her, "Don't tell me…" she nearly begged, seeing the Doctor in her blurry vision, "Don't tell me it happened again!" she huffed, letting out a frustrated breath, "Don't tell me they knocked me out again and I missed it all!"

"Well, not quite all," the Doctor quickly pulled her off the table as shots began to fire around them.

Mac winced as her head pounded, but she shook it, trying to clear it and looked around to see Amy and Rory there as well, Rory on a small gurney still, Amy trying to wake him. She appeared to be trying to get some sort of smelling salt under his nose but every time she leaned up to help, a shot went off and she was forced back down.

"What kind of a welcome do you call that?!" the Doctor shouted up to whoever was firing at them.

Mac groaned, pressing a hand to her head, the last thing she remembered was being stabbed with a syringe…wonderful. She was starting to get very irritated with this, with being knocked out so much. It was getting ridiculous!

"Amy," she looked over, "Wheel him out of here and wake him up."

"What are you going to do?!" Amy asked, but the Doctor had already scrambled over to help get the gurney a rolling start, forcing Amy to take it up and pull it out of the room, Rory still lying on it.

"Absolutely no idea," the Doctor smiled, "Just get through the portal!"

"Doctor," Mac called and he spun around to see her pointing at something in the middle of the room, the firing dying down, clearly only going off from the human presence. They slowly stood, straightening as they took in the figure. It was a man in a black cloak, his eyes pale, his skin equally so and slightly cracked and wrinkled, bald, and blank faced.

"So many of them," the man spoke, staring at the direction Amy had disappeared through, "Crawling the planet, seeping into every corner," it disappeared a moment and flickered into being by a control panel that appeared to be a series of hexagrams all attached to each other.

The Time Lords looked at each other, realizing two things, the first was that the man wasn't real but a hologram, and the second just who the man was supposed to be.

"It's not possible," the Doctor whispered as he quickly made his way to Mac's side, moving his arm around her waist to steady her as they slowly headed for the control panel, looking at the hologram through one side of it, "I thought the Shakri were a myth. A myth to keep the young of Gallifrey in their place."

"I used to tell my brother and sister stories of them when I'd have to watch them, keep them from causing too much mischief," Mac murmured.

"The Shakri exist in all of time and none," the hologram stated, "We travel alone and together. The Seven."

"So we're in a Shakri craft then," Mac looked around.

"We found 7 energy fluctuations on Earth," the Doctor added to her, "It's connected to Earth through 7 portals in 7 minutes. Ah, but why?"

"Serving the word of the Tally," the hologram remarked.

"Why use cubes though?" Mac shook her head, "And why target the earth?"

"Not Earth…Humanity. The Shakri will halt the human plague before the spread."

"Erase humanity before it colonizes space," the Doctor realized, "We thought the cubes were an invasion, the start of war."

"The human contagion only! Must be eliminated."

"Who are you calling a contagion?" Amy's voice demanded before the ginger human and her husband appeared, striding into the room, Rory now awake and looking at Mac concerned, he'd gone after her when she hadn't come back with the tape and seen her being captured.

"Oi!" the Doctor huffed, "Didn't we tell you two to go?"

"You should've learnt, by now," Rory smiled, "You ok Mac?"

She nodded, "Yeah, just a bit of a headache," she shrugged.

"So what is this 'Tally,' anyway?" Amy shook her head.

"Some people call it 'Judgment Day' or 'the Reckoning,'" the Doctor sighed.

"Don't you know?"

"I've never wanted to find out."

"We just thought they were stories," Mac agreed.

"Before the Closure, there is the Tally," the hologram continued, "The Shakri serves the Tally!"

"The pest controllers of the universe," the Doctor eyed the man, "That's how the tales went, isn't it?"

"Wow, that's a seriously weird bedtime story," Amy grimaced.

"Oh please," Mac scoffed, "Mermaids cutting their tails in half for legs?"

"So!" the Doctor clapped his hands, "Here you are, depositing slug pellets all over the Earth, Made attractive so humans will collect them, hoping to find something beautiful inside," Mac frowned at that.

'_What happened?_' she asked him silently.

'_The boxes sent out a pulse,_' he told her solemnly, '_It's causing massive heart attacks to those who were closest,_' he kept the fact that HE had been among those numbers from her for now.

"Because that's what _they_ are you know," he continued, looking at the hologram, "Not pests or plague, creatures of hope, forever building and reaching. Making mistakes, of course, every life form does, but, BUT, they _learn_."

"And they try to be better," Mac nodded, "They learn from what they've failed in and what has hurt them and they push themselves harder than any other species to evolve. And they'll do it too, they'll become something so…indomitable…not even the Shakri or the Tally can stop them. And they shouldn't."

"You want a tally? Put their achievements against their failings, through the whole of time. Kenzie and I will back humanity against the Shakri every time," he took her hand, the two of them standing resolute.

"The Tally must be met," the hologram stated simply, "The second wave will be released."

"What does that mean?" Amy shifted.

"It's going to release more cubes to kill more people," the Doctor swallowed hard.

"The human plague, breeding and fighting," the hologram lamented, "And, when cornered, their rage to destroy. You're too late, Time Lords," the hologram looked at them, startling them that it knew what they were, "The Tally shall be met."

They blinked and the hologram disappeared, "He's gone?" Amy asked hopefully.

"It was just a hologram," Mac shook her head, "Wasn't ever here to begin with."

The Doctor rushed over to the other side of the controls, looking at the buttons and readings, "I can stop the second wave," he smiled, quickly flashing the sonic on the controls, "I can disconnect all the Shakri craft from their portals, leave them drifting in the dark space."

"What about the first wave?" Mac stepped over to her side of the controls, "We need to find a way to reverse it."

"I restarted one of your hearts!" Amy pointed at him, reminding him of that.

"She did what?" Mac rounded on the Doctor.

"You'd need mass defibrillation," Rory argued.

"Why did your heart need restarting?" Mac gave the Doctor a hard look, "Don't tell me you were foolish enough to investigate the boxes up close when the pulse went out."

"Ok, I won't tell you that," the Doctor grinned sheepishly, before quickly returning his attention to the controls as Mac rolled her eyes, "The Shakri used the cubes to turn people's hearts off so we're going to use them to turn them back on again," he flashed the sonic once more, setting the commands.

"Will that work?" Amy stared.

"Well, creatures of hope. Has to."

Mac stared at the screen as the readings changed with the Doctor's work, "Doctor…you do realize that the cubes are going to send a backlash of energy into the ship yes?"

"Yes," he nodded, smiling, "So we'd best get off it before that happens."

"In 30 seconds," she deadpanned.

He blinked, "Oh...run!" he shouted, grabbing her hand and pushing the Ponds on as they raced for the halls, Mac trusting that the Doctor knew a way out…well, he'd have to to be able to have gotten in in the first place.

"I'm going to miss this," Rory laughed as they all ran for a wall and jumped through it…

Ending up on the floor of the hospital's lift moments before it shook, the ship exploding behind them.

The Doctor just started smiling when Mac whacked him on the shoulder, lying beside him, "What did she mean one of your hearts needed restarting?"

He took her hand, holding it over his heart, "The same thing it means every time I look at you," he said softly, "My heart stopped, and you were there to get it regoing with a kiss."

Mac let out a breath and shook her head, leaning over to kiss him, feeling his heart thump against her hand for it.

~8~

Mac hugged Kate tightly as she and the Doctor stood before the Tower of London where Kate had made her base, she was both sad that she hadn't been there to help Kate and the Doctor work out what was going on as she hadn't known Kate was going to contact the Doctor after she'd left with Rory, but also a bit…happy. Kate Stewart, Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, the daughter of the Brigadier, one of the Doctor's closest friends. She was happy that the Doctor had gotten some time to spend with her alone, he deserved to see the Brig had led a good life and been happy, that his daughter was following in her father's footsteps.

"For all your complaining about him," Kate smiled as she pulled away, "The Doctor wasn't quite half bad."

Mac laughed, "I may have been a bit too quick to judge back then," she agreed, "But I'm trying."

"And succeeding," the Doctor put his arm around Mac's shoulders grinning at her.

"You really were as remarkable as Dad said," Kate told him, leaning in to kiss his cheek platonically, "Thank you."

"My!" the Doctor laughed, "A kiss from a Lethbridge-Stewart. That is new," he glanced as his watch and smiled, "Oh, dear. We're late for dinner," he reached out to shake Kate's hand but pulled away before she could grab it, winking at her and laughing before he turned to help Mac into the car that Kate had called for them, the two of them saluting her as she waved goodbye.

~8~

It was a mostly quiet evening in the Pond kitchen as the small group of 5 sat around and ate some Chinese food, listening to a story or two, just laughing and sharing tales, but the Time Lords glanced at each other and knew they'd best be off. If they stayed any longer it would be nearly impossible to leave the Ponds and resume the weaning process.

"We should probably head off," Mac smiled, setting her white container onto the table.

"Yes," the Doctor agreed, getting up and helping Mac up as well, "Things to do. Worlds to save, swings to... swing on," he snagged a fortune cookie and they turned to head for the door, pausing, just…wanting to say one more goodbye, wanting the Ponds to know that they were ok with the events and with their lives falling into order, "We know," the Doctor began and Amy and Rory looked back at them over their shoulders, "You both have lives here, beautiful, messy lives. That is what makes you so fabulously human."

"And you're only just started getting them in order," Mac agreed, "We get that. We've finally gotten trips far enough apart where you have time to do things now and not wait for us. You don't want to give that up and we do understand."

"Actually," Brian offered them a smile, "It's you two they can't give up. And I don't think they should," he nodded, looking at his son, "Go with them. Go save every world you can find. Who else has that chance? Life will still be here."

"And I'LL make sure it's only been five minutes this time," Mac laughed.

"You can come, Brian," the Doctor offered.

But Brian shook his head, "Somebody's got to water the plants. Just bring them back safe."

The Doctor nodded and took Mac's hand, grinning widely as he led the way outside, the four of them standing outside the TARDIS, the Doctor, Mac, and their Ponds, before they waved goodbye to Brian and got in, ready for the adventure of a lifetime.

A/N: My fault this time :( I was so exhausted from yesterday and the day before I slept right through my alarm to wake up and post :( And because we're at the hotel, my parents didn't wake me till right before we were all leaving. -sigh- But I'll be back home in a few hours and then I'll be back to 6:30 postings in the comfort of my own room with my bigger alarm clock lol :)

Did anyone notice that it seems like this episode was the 'left your phone recharger in Henry VIII's room' that the Doctor mentioned in the previous episode since Rory had some thing like a recharger in his hand as they were running? Wibbly wobbly I guess lol :)

As much as I love Amy and Rory, I felt like this episode was really slow, it wasn't one of my favorites :/ I can say though that Mac will be done getting knocked out, I think she's rather irritated about this happening so much, she'll be on the look out not to let it happen again ;)

Some notes on reviews...

I'm not sure if it was honorable either. I feel like, if he'd let the Gunslinger have his vengeance it would have meant more, given Tek closure instead of running off and doing what he'd done with Mercy, choosing his own execution like he chose his own punishment :/


	7. The Angels Take Manhattan

The Angels Take Manhattan

Mac was lying on a large rock with Amy, Rory, and the Doctor, on her stomach, working on a small puzzle that they'd purchased for their trip into New York City in the modern era. They were having a picnic really in Central Park, Amy and the Doctor sitting back to back, Amy with a newspaper and the Doctor a book he'd been reading out loud while Rory was lying on his back, just sunbathing.

"New York growled at my window," the Doctor continued, "But I was ready for it. My stocking seams were straight, my lipstick was combat-ready, and I was packing cleavage that could fell an ox at 20 feet…"

"Erg," Mac grimaced, "Try to censor yourself dear."

"Try to not do it at all," Amy added, glancing at the Doctor over her shoulder, "You're doing it again."

"I'm reading!" he defended.

"Out loud. Please, could you not?"

"There's something different about you, isn't there?" the Doctor shifted so he could look at Amy more, frowning and squinting at her face, at the round spectacles she was wearing to read.

"What's the book?" Rory called, not even opening his eyes.

"'Melody Malone,'" Mac pushed herself to sit more, "Apparently she's a private detective in old-town New York."

Amy picked up from there, "She's got ice in her heart and a kiss on her lips and a vulnerable side she keeps well-hidden."

"Oi, have you read it?" the Doctor frowned at them both, "I don't want any spoilers here," he pointed a warning finger at them.

"River's not with us right now Doctor," Mac laughed, "I think your spoilers are safe."

"And no, we didn't read it," Amy added, "YOU read it. Aloud."

"Yes…" Mac said slowly, "And then you went 'yowzah.' Care to explain?"

The Doctor blushed and Mac started laughing, seeing what had driven him to 'yowz' in his mind, he'd been picturing HER dressed in Melody Malone's outfit, "Maybe for Halloween," she offered jokingly.

"I just like the cover," he pouted, glancing from it to Mac, making her laugh more.

"Can we see the cover?" Amy leaned over his shoulder to try and take the book, but the Doctor leaned away, protecting it, though Mac knew it was to hide his embarrassment in being caught 'fantasizing' or something.

"No," he clutched the book closer, "No. I'm busy. It's your hair. Is it your hair?"

"Close," Mac looked at him, amused, "It's what's between her hair…"

"It's the glasses," Amy rolled her eyes when he leaned in close as though he were trying to squint at her face and determine what was different, but he'd been staring at her for a while now and if he still didn't know there was no chance he'd work it out, "I'm wearing reading glasses now. On my nose. See? There you go."

"I don't like them. They make your eyes look all liney," he reached out and lifted the glasses up, blinking before he quickly dropped them and hastily turned away, "No, actually. Sorry. They're fine. Carry on."

Mac looked at the Doctor softly and reached out to put a hand on his shoe, the closest part of him she could reach from her position, '_Humans age Theta,_' she reminded him, knowing he'd seen the slight wrinkles around the edges of Amy's eyes instead, '_They grow older._'

'_I know,_' he swallowed hard, '_This was why I didn't want to come back,_' he admitted, '_Why I never do. I don't like seeing it happen._'

She offered him a soft smile when Rory stood, "Ok," he clapped his hands, "I'm going to go and get us some more coffee. Who wants more coffee? Me too!"

"Me three!" Mac laughed.

"I'll go get some then!" he promptly turned to go.

"Rory," Amy called, in that tone that all husbands knew their wives used to stop them, and stop he did, "Do I have noticeable lines on my eyes now?"

"Yes," the Doctor answered promptly.

"No," Rory countered quickly.

Amy raised an eyebrow at that, his back was to her, "You didn't look."

"I noticed them earlier," he turned to her, and winced as he realized what he'd said and who to, "_Didn't_ notice them. I specifically remember _not_ noticing them."

"You walk among fire pits, centurion."

"Do I have to come over there?" he smiled, walking towards her.

"You can, if you like," Amy smirked.

"Well, we have company," he squatted down, leaning in.

"Mac can keep him occupied," Amy murmured, tugging him in for a kiss.

"Oh!" the Doctor grimaced, "Do you know, it is so humiliating when you do that!"

Amy snorted at that, "Mac?"

"With pleasure," she grinned, getting up and moving over to the Doctor, taking his face in both her hands and kissing him soundly…laughing when he fell backwards onto the rock, taking her down with him.

"Coffee?" Rory laughed as Mac pulled away, the Doctor burying his face in her neck a moment.

"Coffee."

"I'll come with you Rory," Mac offered, getting up, but the Doctor grabbed her wrist.

"I thought we said no splitting up," he pouted.

"I'm just going to the corner to get some coffee dear," she smiled, patting his cheek, "You just stay here, read, try not to irritate Amy into murdering you before I get back, and I'll be right next to you in a few minutes."

He sighed, tugging her closer to kiss her once more.

"Ooh," Amy mimicked, "Do you know it's so humiliating when you two do that."

"Shut up," the Doctor flushed as Mac gave him another peck and went to head off with Rory, his eyes following her till she and Rory disappeared around a corner.

~8~

Mac held her coffee and the Doctor's in her hands, like Rory did with his and Amy's, as she and Rory walked back to the rock. She had a soft smile on her face as she glanced at her pocket where she'd managed to find some jammie dodgers for him…not even Rory knew how she'd managed to find them in New York, but she had. And she was excited to give them to him, she knew he favored the treat. They crossed the park and passed a large fountain that had a few cherubs carved into the side of it, nearing an underpass only to slow when they heard the sound of children giggling. Mac frowned, there were no children around though, and soon enough the giggles were coupled with the sound of scampering feet.

"Rory," Mac began, "We should take a different way."

"What?" he looked over at her, "Why? The rock's just around that corner," he pointed ahead of them where the path turned around a bend, the rock just a few feet past it.

They both turned from looking at the path when they heard the giggling louder and blinked when they realized they weren't under the underpass any longer, or at least not the one they'd come from but appeared to be standing there at night when it had been daylight only moments before. There as a woman there, with brown curly hair that Mac would recognize anywhere, dressed in the fashions of the 1930s New York.

"I don't understand," Rory shook his head, blinking rapidly, "We just went to get coffees for the Doctor and Amy!"

But Mac just smiled, "Hello, River."

"Hello, mum," River lifted her fedora-clad head and smiled at her.

Mac dropped the coffees and rushed over to her, hugging her tightly, Rory watching as River beamed, hugging her mother back. But that feeling soon faded when he had to ask, "Where are we? How the hell did we get here?"

"I haven't the faintest idea," River sighed as she pulled away, wincing as she saw a figure step out of the shadows behind Rory, "But you'll both probably want to put your hands up."

Mac glanced over to see the man had a gun aimed at them and they both raised their hands, when another man stepped out behind River, "Melody Malone?"

"_You're_ Melody?!" Rory stared at her.

"Makes sense," Mac shrugged, with the luck that she and the Doctor had and his penchant for ending up the 'good wizard in fairytales' this was bound to happen sometime.

The man behind River stepped up as a car pulled up behind him, "Get in," he ordered, opening the door and ushering them into it.

"Ok," Rory shook his head as the car took off, "What is going on?"

"You didn't come here in the TARDIS, did you?" River asked, sounding like she already knew the answer.

"No," Mac shook her head, "Why? Would we not have been able to?"

River nodded, "This city's full of time distortions. Be impossible to land the TARDIS here. Like trying to land a plane in a blizzard. Even I couldn't do it."

"So the Doctor doing it is likely out," Mac joked, though both women knew that the moment he realized that they were both stuck in old time New York, come hell or high water, he'd find a way to get there, damning the consequences, "What I want to know though, is how you got here?"

"Vortex Manipulator," River held up her wrist to show them the device on it, "Less bulky than a TARDIS. A motorbike through traffic. You?"

"I'm... not sure," Rory looked at Mac for answers.

"The only method I can think of isn't pleasant and, if it's right, isn't good at all," Mac sighed.

"And what would that be?"

"The Weeping Angels."

"Right, great," Rory rubbed his head.

"I'm afraid that might be the case," River remarked, "I've been investigating sightings of them all over New York in this era, they just might have done."

They glanced out the window as the car pulled to a halt and the door was opened moments later, allowing them out and a view of a rather large, mansion-esque house. The two men that had apprehended them nudged them on towards the house, River in the lead, with Mac and Rory on either side of her. They stepped into the house to see it was clearly a house of a collector of some sort. There were various vases and other small tokens around the room, but all appeared to be either a set or a rare and valuable artifact.

Mac paused before a large Chinese vase that had a few markings on top of it, "What do you think of this?" she called to River, "Take a guess at the dynasty."

"Early Qin," River answered promptly, making Mac smile.

"Very good," Mac nodded.

"That IS correct," another voice agreed and they looked over to see a slightly plump man with a beard in a suit, standing on the first floor landing, looking down at them, "Are you an archaeologist as well as a detective?"

"Well both require digging do they not?" Mac countered.

The man chucked, heading down the stairs, "You're very well-informed," he eyed them both.

"And you're very afraid," River shot back, pulling his attention to her instead of her mother, "That's an awful lot of locks for one door," she nodded back to where there were four different locks on the door.

"Mac," Rory called softly and she made her way over to see what was wrong, "I'm translating…" he pointed at another Chinese vase, seeing the letters morphing into English.

"That can happen a bit when you travel in the TARDIS," Mac explained, "It fades over time though."

"That one," the man pointed at Rory, "Put him somewhere uncomfortable."

Rory let out a scoffing breath, as though he'd almost been expecting that, this era had a healthy respect for women, of course it wouldn't be Mac that was pulled away by one of the men, the other grabbing Mac's arm to hold her back as she tried to stop them.

"With the babies, sir?" the one holding Rory's arm asked.

"Yes," the man eyed Rory, "Why not? Give him to the babies."

"What babies?" Mac frowned, a pit forming in her stomach at that, there was only one thing she could think of involving babies given the situation at hand, River investigating the Weeping Angels, this man wanting River there, a man who collects things, and that childish giggling she'd heard just before they'd been transported to the past.

But the man merely smirked and stepped onto the floor, gesturing for them to follow as he led them into another room even more full of Chinese vases.

"Mackenzie," River called, not wanting to reveal who Mac was to the man lest he change his mind and decide to use HER for leverage instead of Rory, "Look at this."

Mac pulled her arm out of the second man's hold and walked over to River, looking at the 'yowzah' that had appeared on one of the vases, "Landing lights," she realized.

"Hello, sweetie," River joked, tapping something into her Vortex Manipulator quickly before looking around, "Let's see, crime boss with a collecting fetish. Whatever you don't want anyone else to see has got to be your favorite. Or, possibly, your girlfriend," she moved over to a curtain in the back of the room and pushed it open, revealing a Weeping Angel ready to attack, but chained and manacled, its face deformed as though it had been carved into, "So girlfriend then."

Mac rushed over and pulled River back on instinct, wanting her as far away from the statue as possible.

"These things are all over," the man sighed, "But people don't seem to notice. It never moves while you're looking."

"Yes, we're both very aware," Mac muttered, eyeing the Angel intently.

"Interesting," the man turned his gaze on them, "I know of Melody Malone, the detective who investigates Angels but..."

"Badly damaged," River cut in, trying to keep him from bringing Mac into it.

"I wanted to know if it could feel pain."

"And in doing that it was probably screaming," Mac told him, taking just a step closer to look at the angel's wide mouth, "The others WILL hear it even if you can't."

"Is that why you need all the locks?" River smirked.

The man merely grinned and reached out to turn the lights off, flicking them back on moments later to the horrifying sight of the Angel with Mac's wrist in its grip, "You're going to tell me all about these creatures. And you're going to do it quickly," he flicked the lights again, the grip on Mac's wrist tightening.

"The Angels are predators," River called, rushing over to Mac's side, trying to pry the Angel's hand off her, "They're deadly. What do you want with them?"

"I'm a collector. What collector could resist these? I'm only human."

"Humans," Mac huffed, "Ever year that curiosity killed the cat?"

Before the man could utter a word, the lights around the house began to flicker, the room shaking as a funny wheezing noise began to sound, "What's that? What's happening? Is it an earthquake? What is it?!"

"You stupid old Doctor," Mac let out a breath, though she was smiling, River tuning to rest her head to Mac's shoulder a moment in relief.

"What does that mean?!" the man looked at them.

"It means, Mr. Grayle, just you wait 'til my father gets home," River smirked, the shaking getting worse, knocking Grayle out as the TARDIS appeared behind him in the main hall, just before the stairs.

"Rory?!" the doors opened and Amy ran out, heading right for the stairs in search of her husband, "Rory! Rory?!"

"Doctor!" Mac called, seeing him step out.

He looked over and spotted them, rushing over, "My girls," he greeted, kissing Mac quickly, not even seeming to notice Grayle on the ground, before he reached out to squeeze River's shoulder over Mac's arms, "Sorry I'm late. Traffic was hell," he glanced at River, "So where are we now, sweetheart? Prison alright?"

"I was pardoned ages ago," River told them, smiling, "And it's Professor Song, to you."

Mac's small smile at seeing the Doctor faded, "Professor Song?" she asked at the same time the Doctor breathed, "Pardoned?"

They both swallowed hard at that, knowing that it meant River was one step closer to the Library for both those things to happen.

"Mmm!" she nodded, "Turns out the person I killed never existed, in the first place. Apparently, there's no record of him or his Chosen," she gave them a look, "It's almost as if someone's gone around, deleting themselves from every database in the universe."

"You said I'd got too big," he countered, tapping River's nose.

"And, now, no one's ever heard of you. Didn't you used to be somebody?"

"Weren't you the one who killed the Doctor?"

"Doctor who?" she laughed.

"As much as I love our family bonding," Mac cut in, "I'm starting to lose circulation in my hand."

The Doctor looked over at the angel, quickly sonicing it, frowning at the results, "She's holding you very tight."

"Hence the reason my circulation is being cut off," Mac grumbled, before sighing, "I take it she's too weak to send me back in time which is a plus."

"Well, we need to get that hand back," River eyed it.

"I doubt it'll be easy," Mac remarked, "With this grip, it's either break her wrist or…break…mine, Doctor why are you looking at me like that?" she frowned, seeing him looking devastated and pale at her words, and then it hit her, "Mine, isn't it?"

"I'm sorry," he breathed, "Amy read it in a book and, now, I have no choice," he glanced over his shoulder at where Amy had slowly entered the room, "You see?"

"What book?" River shook her head, not liking any sort of book that told them they had to hurt her mother.

"Your book," he answered, pulling out the Melody Malone book from his pocket, "Which you haven't written yet, so we can't read!" he rubbed his head at that.

"I don't like the cover much."

"Neither do I now," Mac muttered, "We need to get you a scarf or something."

"But," Amy called, trying to help, trying to make up for her mistake in reading ahead, "If River's going to write that book, she'd make it useful, yeah?"

"Well, I'll certainly try," River agreed, "But we can't read ahead. It's too dangerous."

"I know, but there must be something we can look at."

"What?" the Doctor scoffed, "A page of handy hints, previews, spoiler-free?"

"What about the chapter titles?" Mac suggested.

The Doctor's eyes widened and looked at her, "You are brilliant!"

"Simple solutions Doctor," Mac smiled back, leaning over to peck his lips, "Take a look."

He opened the book and skimmed the titles, "He's in the cellar!" he called to Amy, tossing her the sonic to go after Rory, the ginger human running out…when something else caught the Doctor's gaze, and he stiffened.

"River," Mac called, seeing the change in his demeanor, "Can you go help Amy, they said the babies before…it could be baby Weeping Angels."

River's eyes widened and she rushed out, leaving Mac with the Doctor.

"What is it dear?" she whispered.

The Doctor closed his eyes and held up the book, allowing her to see the titles to come.

'Amelia's Last Farewell.'

"We don't know what that means," Mac reminded him, "It could be her farewell to us, or to New York, or to time travel, we CAN'T jump to conclusions yet," she awkwardly reached across herself to touch his face, her right wrist having been grasped, "Doctor…focus."

He took a deep breath, holding onto the hope that it was what Mac said, that it might just be Amy deciding to stop travelling with them, which was a much better alternative than her dying, and nodded, "Right…let's get you out of this," he looked at her solemnly, "This will hurt."

"I know," she swallowed, "But I need that hand."

He took a deep breath and got to work.

~8~

It had been a pleasure to steal a car from Grayle after what he'd done to Mac and River and Rory, the Doctor had been quite keen to use the sonic to nab one and soon they were off to the location that River's scanner and manipulator had picked up a trace of Rory. Luckily though he'd only been transported in space and not time. Mac flexed her wrist a bit, testing it out. River had healed it. The woman still had just a smidge of regeneration energy inside her even though she was now technically on her last regeneration, it was small, but she'd insisted on using it to heal Mac's hand, giving the Doctor a pointed look not to do anything or use his own energy to heal her. Her wrist felt fine now though and soon they were off, ready to rescue Rory. Though, finding his signal coming form an apartment complex was not what they were expecting as they pulled up to the Winter Quay building, but it didn't stop them from dashing inside, the doors opening for them, a sure sign that nothing good would come of this place.

The lift doors opened and Amy bolted out of them on the third floor where River's scanner said Rory was, "Rory?"

"He's close," River agreed.

"Rory!" Amy took off down the hall, peeking into the only open door and gasped, "Rory!" she cried running into the room, the three Time Lords rushing after her to see her and Rory hugging.

"Mum," River called, pulling her attention over, "Dad, look at this," she pointed down the hall where a Weeping Angel was standing, grinning at them, "Why is it smiling?"

"Because of that," Mac breathed, spotting a nameplate on the door, 'R. Williams,' before her gaze flickered back to the Angel, "I'll take that one, you keep sight of the other end," she told River who turned around to stare down the way they'd come, an angel there too as they slowly backed towards the room.

"Amy!" the Doctor shouted, rushing into the flat, "Rory! Get out of here. Don't look at anything. Don't touch anything," Mac and River quickly closed the door behind them and locked it…when a faint rasping noise sounded from the darkened back bedroom.

"Who's that?" Amy frowned, spotting an old man lying there, staring at them.

"Amy," the man breathed, reaching an arm out to her, "Amy, please."

"No," Mac whispered, seeing Amy heading for the man, "Don't…tell me…"

"I'm sorry," the Doctor swallowed hard, putting his arm around Mac's waist and hugging her close as they recognized the old man…as Rory.

"Amy," the man smiled as she took his hand, "Please. Please."

"Rory," Amy stared, turning to look at the younger him in the doorway, "He's you."

The older Rory gasped, pulling her attention back as he smiled at her, "Amy…" he sighed, content, and slowly closed his eyes, Amy letting go of his hand as it loosened.

"Someone, please, tell me what is going on," Rory demanded.

"That was you Rory," Mac told him, "A future you, a you that lived here and grew old here and…and died here."

"This place is policed by Angels," the Doctor realized, "Every time you try to escape, you get zapped back in time."

"So this place belongs to the Angels?" Amy frowned, moving back to Rory's side, hugging him close, "They built it?"

"Displacing someone back in time creates time energy and _that_ is what the Angels feed on. But, normally, it's a one-off, a hit-and-run. If they could keep hold of their victims, feed off their time energy over and over again..."

"They've turned this place into a battery farm," Mac breathed, "And we're only on the third floor," Mac realized, thinking of how many other people were likely trapped there right now, "River," she looked at her, "You said you were investigating the sightings of the Angels…how many Angels are in New York that you know of?"

River shook her head, "It's like they've taken over every statue in the city."

"Wonderful."

The Doctor let out a deep sigh at that, "The Angels take Manhattan because they can. Because they've never had a food source like this one, the city that never sleeps."

They all nearly jumped when they heard a crash outside the window, a thudding almost like footsteps, "What was that?" Rory frowned.

The Doctor moved to the window and looked out, "I don't know, but I think they're coming for you."

"What does that mean? What is going to happen to me? What is physically going to happen?"

"If you try to leave Rory, the Angels will stop you," Mac told him, "They'll chase you down until they can send you back in time to right here, maybe a few decades ago, and you'll live out your life in this room, always zapped back here…till you die in that bed right now."

"And will Amy be there?"

"I don't think so, no."

"How do you know?" Amy took Rory's hand, not about to leave him.

"Because I know that expression," the Doctor murmured, looking at the older Rory, "It's the one where you're so pleased to see someone again because you thought you lost them," his gaze flickered to Mac as she smiled sadly at him.

"Ok," Rory shook his head, "Well, they haven't taken me yet. What if I just run? What if I just get the hell out of here? Then that never happens."

"It's already happened, Rory. You've just witnessed your own future."

"Dad…" River blinked, "He's right. If Rory got out, it would create a paradox!"

Amy glanced at the window, hearing a crashing again, "What is that?"

"This is the Angels' food source," River continued to explain to her parents, "The paradox poisons the well. It could kill them all. This whole place would literally unhappen!"

"Pardoxes," Mac laughed, "You're definitely your father's daughter," River beamed at that.

"But to create a paradox like that takes almost unimaginable power," the Doctor warned, "What have we got? Eh? Tell me. Come on, what?"

Amy stepped right beside Rory and took his hand, "_I_ won't let them take him. That's what we got."

Rory winced as another crash went off, "Whatever that thing is, it's getting closer."

"Rory," Mac looked at him, "You need to understand, if you do this…you CAN'T stop running. No matter what."

"Well, then, better get started," Amy determined, pulling Rory to the door and throwing it open…only to see an Angel there, "Husband, run!" she pulled Rory out the door, the Time Lords keeping the Angel in place by staring at it…only for two more to join it.

The lights flickered and suddenly the three Angels were inside the room.

"River, I'm not sure this can work," the Doctor admitted.

"Father, shut up," River imitated her best friend and they slipped past the Angels, bolting out of the apartment and into the hall, nearly running into two more Angels in the hall, the lights starting to flicker again.

The Doctor flashed the sonic around, "I can't keep doing this!"

"Any ideas?" River gasped.

" A few yeah," Mac nodded, "Starting with this!" she grabbed a mirror out of her pocket and held it up to one of the Angels, "Take this," she told River, giving another to the Doctor, "And wait a mo," she rushed towards the apartment, keeping the three Angels in sight as she grabbed the empty coat rack from just inside the door and pulled it out, setting it up in the middle of the hall, "Put the mirrors on it so that they're locked on the Angels," she ordered, handing them tape as she set up one mirror to handle the three Angels.

The Time Lords stepped back slowly, seeing the Angels were unmoving, "You are brilliant," the Doctor quickly kissed Mac, "Like mother like daughter en?" he grinned at River too.

"Feeling a bit more like you right now dad," River told him, "Run!" she grabbed their arms and led them past the angels, heading for the stairs…but there were Angels both up and down the flight.

"Fire escape!" Mac called, spotting it, and they ran for it, guessing that the Ponds had gone up as there were FAR more Angels below than above and…they would have seen them on the streets by now. Now they just had to make sure that the humans didn't do anything stupid.

~8~

Stupid, of course, being the only thing humans seemed to know how to do as they reached the roof only to see Amy and Rory standing on a ledge, about to jump.

"What the hell are you doing?!" the Doctor shouted as they raced across the top to try and get to them.

Amy just smiled, "Changing the future," she murmured, looking at Rory, "It's called marriage," before she hugged him to her and fell over the side of the building with him.

"Amelia!" Mac cried, rushing to the ledge, looking over it with the Doctor, "Rory!"

"Amy!" the Doctor gasped, the two of them watching as the Ponds fell…

River, though, was looking at quite a few balls of light that had started to appear on the roof, "Mum! Dad!" they spun around, seeing an electrical energy surrounding the light, the building starting to shake, "What's happening?!"

"It's working!" Mac realized, grabbing the Doctor tightly.

"The paradox is working!" the Doctor cheered, reaching out to grab River's hand as the light surrounded them.

~8~

"Amy!" Mac called as she and the Doctor rushed through a graveyard just outside the city, spotting the Ponds sitting up quickly, "Rory!"

"Ha ha," the Doctor laughed, "We're back where we started! You collapsed the timeline. The paradox worked. We all pinged back where we belong."

"What, in a graveyard?" Rory blinked.

"This happened last time," Amy frowned, "When we were trying to get to the past. Why always here?"

"Does it matter?" the Doctor asked, just too relieved to have them both safely back, "We got lucky! We could've blown New York off the planet."

"We won't be able to visit there again though," Mac sighed, looking back at the poor TARDIS as it sat there with what looked like quite a few white and gray smudges on the outside, "The timelines are shot to all hell."

"Oh," the Doctor turned and pulled the Ponds into a hug, Mac laughing as she joined in, "We could've lost you both. And you," he turned, tugging Mac into his own arms, "You wandered off," he wagged his finger at her, "Don't ever do that again."

Mac smiled, "Only take on 1 companion next time and I won't."

"Deal," he hugged her tightly, swaying a bit as he did so before taking her hand and leading her back to the TARDIS just as River stepped out of it with a bucket and rag to clean the smudges off with.

"It could do with a repaint," River remarked.  
"We've been busy," the Doctor defended.

"Does the bulb on top need changing?"

"Just changed it."

"So, Rory and Amy, then."

"They'll be ok," Mac smiled taking a rag and starting to help clean the box off.

"Yes, but they're going to get terribly bored, hanging round here all day."

"Doctor?" Amy called as she and Rory started to head over from a small hug of their own.

"Next time, can we just go to the pub?" Rory laughed.

"Ooh, I want to go to the pub right now," the Doctor nodded, his own way of admitting he could probably do with a drink…that was what the humans did right? That was a proper phrase? Oh well, "Are there video games there? I love video games."

"Right, family outing, then," River smiled.

"Come on," Mac linked her arm with River, "Let's go look up some local pubs," she stepped into the TARDIS with River and the Doctor, the three of them just reaching the console when they heard Amy screaming.

"Doctor!" the girl cried, "MAC!"

They ran out of the TARDIS and nearly fell back in horror to see a Weeping Angel standing before Amy, its hand extended, Amy staring at it to keep it in place, but with Rory nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Rory?" Mac looked around.

"Where the hell did that come from?" River gasped.

"It's a survivor," the Doctor called, rushing closer to Amy, scanning the angel with the sonic, "Very weak, but keep your eyes on it."

"Amelia…" Mac stepped closer as well, "Where's Rory?"

Amy shook her head minutely, "I don't know. I was…I turned around and he was looking at a gravestone. He blinked and he was gone!"

The Doctor looked at Mac solemnly and stepped closer to the gravestone Amy gestured to, the breath leaving him as he saw Rory's name and age, 82, when he passed, "I'm sorry, Amelia. I'm so, so sorry."

"No," Amy started to cry, not wanting to believe it, "No, we can just go and get him in the TARDIS. One more paradox."

"We can't," Mac reminded her, stepping closer, taking her hand as River helped keep an eye on the Angel, "The TARDIS would destroy half the earth if we do."

"No, that's not true. I don't believe you."

"Ames," River called, Amy nearly closing her eyes at Melody's old nickname for her, "It's true."

Amy swallowed hard, letting out a shuddering breath before she started walking towards the Angel.

"Amy what are you doing?" Mac tried to tug her hand back.

"That gravestone, Rory's, there's room for one more name, isn't there?" Amy asked the Doctor.

"What are you talking about?" the Doctor shook his head, "Back away from the Angel. Come back to the TARDIS! We'll figure something out!"

"The Angel, would it send me back to the same time, to him?"

"I don't know. Nobody knows."

"But it's my best shot, yeah?" Amy took another step.

"No!" the Doctor tried to stop her, but Mac rushed over to him, hugging him tightly, keeping him back, the two of them needing to focus on the Angel.

"I just have to blink, right?"

"Amy…" Mac swallowed hard.

"It'll be fine," Amy spoke softly, though they could all hear her, "I know it will. I'll…I'll be with him, like I should be. Me and Rory, together."

"Stop it!" the Doctor pleaded, "Just…just stop it! You are creating a fixed time. We will never be able to see you again."

"And that's ok," Amy nodded, "You'll have Mac, and I'll have Rory. We'll all be ok, in the end."

"Amy, please," the Doctor started to cry, "Just…come back into the TARDIS. Come on, Pond, please."

"Amy," Mac took a breath, "Look out for Rory, and good luck."

"Thank you Mac," Amy sniffed, "Raggedy man?" she quickly spun around, "Goodbye."

Before she disappeared from right in front of them, the Angel the only thing left.

The Doctor broke down, falling to his knees on the grass, Mac sliding down with him as they both looked at the gravestone now with Amy's name added, her age 87 when she died.

~8~

It had been hard, the hardest thing they'd ever had to do, getting back in the TARDIS and leaving the grave of Amy and Rory. River had piloted the box off, knowing her parents were devastated. While the Ponds had been her best friends…they had been THEIR companions, their lives had literally been in the Time Lords' hands and they'd failed to protect them. She'd offered to travel with them, to give up her 'freedom' (as though she were ever really trapped in Stormcage with them popping in to take her out every other day it seemed) and travel with them, stay with them, help them heal…but they knew they'd be rubbish company. The Doctor had lost so many companions and Mac…she'd put more effort into protecting the Ponds after they lost Donna and yet she still failed.

They'd hugged their daughter and left her to go lead the rest of her life, telling her that they wanted a signed copy of her book when it was published. It had struck something n them though, when they looked at the book after she'd signed it, to see that the story had ended right where they were, with Amy and Rory being lost…but there was STILL the last page! The story wasn't over yet!

So they'd run back to Central Park, to their picnic, still sitting there, to the last page of the book that the Doctor had ripped out as he always did as he hated endings, and grabbed the paper, moving to sit down and read it, the last words Amy Pond had for them.

"Afterword, by Amelia Williams. Hello, old friends. And here we are, you and me, on the last page. By the time you read these words, Rory and I will be long gone. So know that we lived well and were very happy. And, above all else, know that we will love you always. Sometimes I do worry about you, though, about you both. I think, once we're gone, you won't be coming back here for a while and you might be alone, which you should never be. Don't be alone, Doctor, don't do that to you or Mackenzie. And do one more thing for me. There's a little girl waiting in a garden. She's going to wait a long while, so she's going to need a lot of hope. Go to her. Tell her a story, Mac, like I heard you telling Melody. Tell her that, if she's patient, the days are coming that she'll never forget. Tell her she'll go to sea and fight pirates. She'll fall in love with a man who'll go to the ends of the earth and back for her. Tell her she'll give hope to the greatest painter who ever lived and save a whale in outer space. Tell her this is the story of Amelia Pond, and this is how it ends."

The Time Lords looked at each other, "I suppose we owe this to her," the Doctor mused.

"We owe someone else another thing first," Mac reminded him, taking his hand before leading him to the TARDIS again.

~8~

"I'm not quite sure I understand," Brian spoke as the two aliens stood behind him, before a small house in New Jersey, looking at the knocker, "Rory and Amy…they…they were sent to the past, to a past you can't go to and…and they lived their lives there and…and died before they were even born?"

"Maybe not quite before they were born," the Doctor winced, "But yes…they…they're gone Brian. I'm so sorry."

Brian looked down, "Then…why are we here?" he asked, his voice breaking at the thought of his son having died, just as he feared, and him not knowing.

"Because there's someone here who has been waiting a VERY long time to meet you," Mac put a hand on his shoulder, "Someone who can tell you every detail of their lives."

"Who?"

"Knock," the Doctor nodded at the door.

Brian took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

It opened moments later, a man who seemed a little bit older than him, standing there, staring, "Brian Williams?" the man asked instantly, shaking himself out of his shock and holding out a hand, "How d'you do, sir?"

Brian blinked, "I'm…I'm sorry I don't know who you are, they um," he glanced back only to see the Time Lord were gone, "Brought me."

The man smiled though, "The Doctor and Mackenzie?" he guessed.

"You know them?" Brian stared at him, startled.

"I've grown up on stories of them," the man smiled, "My mother and father told me them as bedtime stories. Sorry, I should introduce myself. I'm…I'm Anthony. Anthony Brian Williams."

Brian's mouth fell open, "Are you there…are you my…"

"Grandson," he nodded, "Yes, um…if you'd like to come in, I can call up my brother and sister too."

"I have grandchildren?" Brian breathed.

"Yeah, Charlie and Elise," Anthony nodded, "Please," he stepped aside, "Come in, I've got a lot to tell you. The albums should be somewhere…"

Mac and the Doctor watched as Brian entered the house, the door slowly shutting, before she turned to the Doctor, "I'm sorry," she murmured, reaching out to place a gentle hand on his shoulder, feeling him shaking beneath her touch, the shutting door feeling just as final to them as if they had been at a funeral and watched a coffin lower into the ground, "I'm so sorry Theta."

"It's fine," he swallowed hard, staring out at the door, seeing through it, his eyes full of tears he refused to let fall, "I'm fine. I'm alright."

She gave him a sad smile, "And in Time Lord…that means you need this," she leaned in closer, wrapping her arms around him. He stiffened for a moment before he let out a breath, turning to pull her closer, feeling himself start to shake as sobs wracked his body, her trying to comfort him as he wept for the Ponds

A/N: I am happy to say this is the last delay in posting :) My family seems to have a curse with holidays. Usually the day after anything we celebrate, there's a fight. I was expecting it to be today but it happened last night, after we finished Mother's Day, between my mother and brother, then my brother and father, then my father and mother and I had to play mediator till about 2 am :( And, of course, when I plan to edit bright and early this morning to post, the fight just resumes. It didn't stop till my brother left for work at 2 :( I just got the time to edit now, but I'm going to spend the rest of the day editing and getting ahead so I won't have any delays again :)

As for this chapter, I'm so sad to see the Ponds go, but I'm very excited for Clara :)

Some notes on reviews...

Thanks! I fixed it :)

I can't say when Teddy will be popping up, if he pops up again. I put a note about a possible 'writing challenge' in a prior chapter of the series about Teddy, he doesn't quite seem as popular as people might think lol :)


	8. The Great Detective

The Great Detective

Mac stood in the shadows of an ally, her arm linked with the Doctor as they watched Strax the Sontaran, Madame Vastra the Silurian, and Jenny the human standing at the end of it, looking out at the streets ahead. They were waiting for THEM to appear, watching for a carriage, they seemed to have forgotten that the Doctor preferred the shadows now. She bit her lip, feeling the Doctor tense but sagging beside her, debating whether to alert them to their presence but...they were THERE, they had come off the cloud the TARDIS was parked on, _the Doctor_ had...that had to mean something didn't it? She took a breath and cleared her throat, the three beings before her spun around, and she knew that she and the Doctor were too far in the shadows for them to be able to see them clearly but they knew it was them.

"I'm so glad you came!" Vastra breathed and Mac could visibly see her heave with all the relief her words carried, but the Doctor...he was silent, "We have news, I think, of particular interest to you. There was a meteor shower in the south west, unexpected timing and density. I have calculated there is a 34% chance it is the result of alien intervention," Vastra shifted a moment when the Doctor still didn't speak, "24%?" before sighing, thinking he was silent for the sheer purpose that he knew the truth instead of that he was trying desperately to make it seem like he didn't care, "Well it could JUST be meteors but it's worth looking into! There is a very pleasant tea room in the area, I'm sure Lady Mackenzie would find it enjoyable?"

She let out a soft breath, feeling the Doctor tense even more, his arm moving out from hers to wind around her, holding her a little closer.

"Also there's a professor, Erasmus Pin," Jenny attempted this time, "Who's claiming he's gonna split the world open with a giant drill through the thinnest part of the Earth's crust! I think we should investigate!" she seamed to realize she'd practically demanded that and backed off at the Doctor's continued silence, Mac able to feel him flinch at the thought of a drill, likely recalling their first encounter with the Silurians in the center of the Earth, "I mean, he doesn't actually have a giant drill," Jenny stuttered, "And he's not really a professor, and he was a bit drunk at the time and singing a bit but you know it's never too early to…investigate a drill."

Mac reached out and took his left hand, holding it tightly, knowing Jenny was making it worse.

"I've declared war on the Moon!" Strax stated, straightening in a military fashion.

This time the silence from the Doctor was more from trying not to laugh at that ridiculous notion, but the others couldn't see it in the shadows, they couldn't see his face fighting a grin, they couldn't feel him shaking a bit beside him or hear the faint bark of laughter that had just barely escaped him before he tried to force it down, tried to remind himself he wasn't happy, he wasn't in a happy mood, and that recent events were far too serious to be laughing.

"Do be quiet Strax!" Vastra huffed and they could see her roll her eyes.

"Too long the Moon has hung unmonitored and unsuspected in the sky! It is gaining enormous tactical advantage!"

"There's no one living there!" Jenny countered.

"Then it is CLEARLY time to act! They won't suspect a thing!"

"WHO won't suspect a thing?"

"MOONITES!"

The Doctor started to shake his head, knowing he needed to stop them before he actually did laugh, before he started to feel something happy that wasn't caused by the lovely ginger woman beside him, "Why do you keep doing this?" he finally spoke, stepping out of the shadows and tugging Mac with him by the hand, both of them dressed in a Victorian fashion as well, "What is the point of calling Kenzie and I down repeatedly? I have told you. We both KEEP telling you! We don't do this anymore. We've retired."

"There's a man on Praid Street with an invisible wife!" Jenny tried once more and Mac could tell the sigh the Doctor gave was out of irritation this time, something Jenny seemed to sense as well, "Maybe he just doesn't have a wife..."

"You're wasting your time," he strode past them, heading out to find a carriage.

Mac sighed, allowing him to slip away as she looked at the odd trio before her, "I'm sorry," she told them quietly, "It's hard...for the both of us. We just...we just lost our companions, 'the Ponds,'" she smiled sadly, "It hurts him because...he's already lost so many to lose a new one is breaking his hearts."

"And you?" Vastra looked at her sympathetically, "How are YOU?"

She shook her head, shrugging, "Alright," she swallowed hard and they could see the tears in her eyes, "I'm always alright," she closed her eyes a moment, "I'm not used to this," she admitted, "I haven't lost companions before...I haven't let myself be open to something like a companion ever and..." she shook her head, "I'm not coping well either. We tried, we actually tried harder than ever and it..." she cut herself off, taking a breath, "I'll try to reason with him."

"Thank you," Vastra whispered, feeling her heart breaking for them, all they knew was that the Doctor and Mac were there but on a cloud, not engaging as was per normal. Now though...now they knew what was bothering them and it was a terrible loss the two had suffered.

Mac nodded and stepped past them just as the Doctor secured a carriage, holding out his hand to help her in before following, the horses taking them off into the night, though she had to smile when she faintly heard Strax exclaim, 'Damn moon!' just before they disappeared.

A/N: I wanted to do this prequel to sort of set the stage and hint at what'll be coming next ;)

Also, today will be the last day to vote for the possible HOTS AU for the Master :) I'll announce if I'll be doing it tomorrow :)

Some notes on reviews...

Thanks! I fixed it :)


	9. The Snowmen - Part 1

The Snowmen - Part 1

Mac smiled as she and the Doctor walked through the streets of Victorian London one night, a light snow on the ground. Her smile though was tense at best, which made the Doctor tug her closer, his arm around her waist as they walked. He knew why she wasn't exactly comfortable at the moment. He should have thought of a different place to take them for their retirement, but he'd just thought of a simple time and…one with friends. He knew that Vastra had settled into the time nicely and he wanted there to be at least one person there that would give them space but that he knew would be there if needed, and Vastra was always like that. For how irritated he tried to make himself seem when she'd call them down from the cloud they'd parked the TARDIS on, he felt gratitude that she was trying to get through to him and his stubbornness, that she wasn't going to just give up.

But he really shouldn't have chosen this time just because of that. Victorian London, Victorian values were a bit too much like the values of Gallifrey. Their marriage contracts were medieval in quality, but the values of how a marriage was meant to go and how they were to act in public was all Victorian. Mac was NOT comfortable there at all but she said nothing about it. She was trying not to add to the guilt he felt over losing the Ponds, but he could see it in her expressions, in how close she stayed to him, in the look in her eyes. She really wasn't comfortable there and he knew he was to blame. That was another reason why he didn't like leaving the TARDIS much, in their box, which had re-envisioned her console room, it was all high tech and Gallifreyan and they could stay there and pretend they were in the Vortex or in modern England or just drifting in space but not. Whenever they were called out of the box it just hit them both they were there and as much as he hated it he just couldn't bring himself to leave, not yet.

He didn't know what he was waiting for, what he expected to happen, but he was still there, he and Mac.

Currently, they were walking through the snow, a back alley, past a small tavern, the Rose and Crown, passing a brunette girl in a red dress on the way.

"Did you make this snowman?" the girl called to them as they passed.

"No," the Doctor said briskly, not bothering to stop, just…wanting to get back to the TARDIS with Mac. They'd been out longer than they'd planned. He'd been hoping he could take her on a little bit of a romantic date, just stroll around town, have some tea, just to distract them both, to try and find some happiness despite the sorrow of losing the Ponds. It was always easier when it happened suddenly and when he didn't see the companions again…but it was always HIS choice to do that, he was always mentally preparing himself for it and readying himself to leave them. He always knew HE was setting them on Earth, this was the opposite, this was the companions disappearing suddenly and him having no preparation.

Losses like that hit him too hard.

"Well, who did?" the girl continued, "Cos it wasn't there a second ago. It just appeared, from nowhere."

Mac felt herself let out a bit of a laugh when the Doctor stopped suddenly, already knowing that was EXACTLY what he had to hear for it to be something drawing in his curiosity. It was times like this where she felt like he was more cat than Time Lord, though he just had a few more lives than a cat did.

'_What do you think?_' he looked at her, letting her decide if they should investigate or not, she had been tense and uncomfortable the last few hours and they were heading back to the TARDIS for her.

'_I could do with another distraction,_' she nodded.

He pouted though, but with a faint blush on his cheeks, '_I had a rather nice one planned for in the TARDIS._'

'_Well then it'll be a doubly distracting night,_' she leaned in and gave him a peck, making him grin, making the pink tinge on his cheeks darken just slightly, guessing what sort of distraction he'd been planning for after their date.

He lifted her hand and kissed it before they turned and headed back towards the girl, Mac tugging up the hem of her dress on the way. They were both wearing Victorian outfits, the Doctor's more a suit with an old top hat on, while she had a green, simple gown. It was long sleeved, with buttons along the front, tight on top and flowing from the waist, with a headband on her head still, her hair down. They walked over to the snowman the girl was staring at, it was like a tall lump of snow with a round part on the top, an eerie smile on it.

The Doctor pulled on Amy's reading glasses and looked at the snowman, taking a pinch of snow from it as Mac crouched down before it, poking it in the stomach area, examining it.

"Maybe it's snow that fell before," the Doctor suggested, "Maybe it remembers how to make snowmen."

Mac nodded along as though that made perfect sense, humans were much the same in a way, they would evolve through the millennia, but they'd always come back to the same basic shape in the end, "Could be."

"What, snow that can remember?" the girl scoffed though, "That's silly."

"Silly's what he's all about," Mac smiled up at him as he held out a hand to help her up.

"I like silly too," the girl nodded, "S'the reason I'm still talking to you two," she grinned at them.

"What's your name?" the Doctor eyed the girl curiously, pulling off his glasses.

"Clara."

"It's beautiful," Mac smiled, "We've a daughter named Melody," she offered, knowing River was a bit less 'Victorian' than Melody was.

"That's lovely," Clara smiled at them, seeing the genuine, though small and sad, smiles on their faces.

"Yes," the Doctor nodded, "Well, goodbye!" he turned, taking Mac's hand as they walked off.

Clara blinked, "Oi!" she hurried after them, "Where are you going? I thought we were just getting acquainted."

The Doctor smiled wryly, but kept walking, "Those were the days," he murmured to Mac, putting his arm around her waist and kissing her temple as they headed for a carriage, helping her in before getting in after her, knocking on the roof to signal to Strax to start on before he slid across the carriage and beside Mac, winding his arm around her once more.

He reached out and touched her cheek, turning her face to his and leaned in, his lips just barely grazing her…

When Vastra's voice spoke from a small hearing horn hanging from the ceiling of the carriage, "How refreshing to see you taking an interest again. Was she nice?"

"She was sweet, yes," Mac nodded.

"All we did was speak to her," the Doctor huffed, he was starting to feel the familiar irritation of being interrupted when he tried to have a sweet moment with Mac. There were quite a few times he forgot they were in Victorian London and his affections and the way he went about displaying them weren't quite acceptable for the times. He liked being in the carriage or the TARDIS because it was private and he could kiss her or hold her however he liked and no one could judge them. To be honest, he was thinking it might be time to head out soon, go somewhere else, a little more advanced, he was getting rather tired of Victorian values.

"And made your usual impact, no doubt."

"No, no impact at all. Those days are over."

"Hardly," Mac laughed, "All you have to do is enter a room and that chin of yours makes an impact enough."

"Oi," he pouted at her.

She just leaned in and kissed his chin with a peck, "Careful, you just might turn me into a chin-woman," she winked.

"Oh?" he started to smile, "Not one for the noses anymore?"

"Oh I am," she laughed, "But your chin is growing on me."

He laughed in return, "Only took a few centuries eh?"

"You should beware Doctor," Vastra warned, "It's the same story, every time. And it always begins with the same two words."

"She'll never be able to find us again," he rolled his eyes, "She doesn't even have the name. Doctor. What two words?"

The Time Lords actually jerked back in surprise when the hatch above them opened and Clara dropped down upside down, "Doctor? Doctor who?"

~8~

It was probably not a very nice thing to do, locking Clara in the carriage, Mac had argued against it but it was really more Strax's reaction than their order that had led to it. When the Sontaran noticed there was another human seeming to be spying on them, he'd quickly pulled into an alley and gotten them out and locked Clara in there before they could even really blink. And, since they weren't quite sure what to do next, they agreed to leave Clara like that if just for a moment or two while they worked out a plan. At the moment though, Mac was pacing, trying to think of what to do while the Doctor crouched in the snow, examining it, Strax…well, he was doing some 'recon' as he called it, spying on the Great Intelligence Institute that was just across the street.

"They've taken samples from snowmen all over London," Strax informed them of what he was seeing, "What do you suppose they're doing in there?"

"This snow is new" the Doctor mused, "Possibly alien. When you find something brand new in the world, something you've never seen before, what's the next thing you look for?"

Strax paused a moment, actually considering the question, "A grenade!"

"No Strax," Mac laughed, "You'd look for a profit," she sighed, biting her lip, "Victorian Values at its finest."

The Doctor stood and moved over to her, looping his arm around her, holding her close, he really was starting to regret bringing her there. The sooner they dealt with Clara, the sooner they could head out to their next adventure.

"I suggest a full frontal assault with automated laser monkeys, scalpel mines and acid!" Strax called.

"Why?" the Doctor stared at him.

Strax blinked and sighed, "Couldn't we at least investigate?"

"It's none of our business."

"Sir, permission to express my opposition to your current apathy?"

"Permission granted," he rolled his eyes.

"Sir, I am opposed to your current apathy."

"It's not apathy Strax," Mac sighed, "It's the middle of the healing process."

"Healing process?" the Sontaran spoke slowly, as though he'd never heard those words before.

"Yes," Mac nodded, "We…aren't a optimum strength Strax," she tried to use terms he'd know and understand, "We're nearly there, but you know warriors must be at their full strength when engaging an enemy. We're not quite there yet."

"But thank you, Strax, for your concern," the Doctor added sarcastically, "If ever we're in need of advice from a psychotic potato-dwarf, you'll certainly be the first to know."

"But if the snow is new and alien, shouldn't we be making some attempt to destroy it?" Strax wondered, they could do that from a distance without engaging the enemy, "Be reasonable!"

The Doctor shook his head, ignoring the shouts from Clara in the carriage, "It is not our problem. Over a thousand years of saving the universe, Strax, you know the one thing I learned? The universe doesn't care."

"We don't like people getting hurt Strax, and that's all that seems to happen even when we try," Mac sighed, her gaze drifting to the carriage as it rocked back and forth, "We need to deal with Clara, Doctor."

"Yes, yes," he sighed, nodding and the two headed for the carriage, hearing Clara shouting for them to let her go and let her out, only to open the door and cut her off, the two of them getting in as Strax blocked the side door.

"It's alright sweetie," Mac tried to reassure her, "We're not going to hurt you."

Clara, though was staring at Strax not quite in horror but in a sort of disgusted confusion, "What is that thing?"

"Silence, boy!" Strax huffed.

"That's Strax," the Doctor introduced, "And as you can see, he's easily confused."

"Silence, girl. Sorry, lad."

"Sontaran. Clone warrior race, factory produced, whole legions at a time. Two genders is a bit further than he can count."

"Sir, do not discuss my reproductive cycle in front of enemy girls! It's embarrassing!"

"Typical middle child of six million," he whispered to Clara.

Clara frowned and eyed them, working in a tavern, she knew a lot about reading people, gauging who they were and what they were like and determining their threat and intentions. These two seemed plenty dangerous at times, but also quite harmless, like they were good people, but they were strong too, "Who are you?"

"We can't say," Mac shook her head, "Sorry, but the less you know the less jarring the worm's affect on you will be."

"Worm?"

The Doctor merely turned to Strax, "We need the Memory Worm."

Strax straightened like a man on a mission, "Sir," he bowed and walked off.

"You'll need the what?" Clara slid in her seat to the door, trying to look out and see what Strax was doing, "The worm? What worm?"

"It's called a Memory Worm," Mac repeated, "It's relatively painless and harmless, but just one touch makes you lose an hour's worth of memory. A bite could lead to years off."

The Doctor smiled as Strax returned…until he saw the Sontaran was empty handed, "Where is it?"

"Where's what, sir?" Strax blinked.

"I sent you to get the memory worm."

"Did you? When?" he glanced to Mac for assistance and spotted Clara, "Who's he? What are we doing here?" before his attention was caught by the clouds and soft flurries starting to come down, "Look, it's been snowing!"

"You didn't use the gauntlets, did you?" the Doctor rubbed his forehead.

"Why would I need the gauntlets? Do you want me to get the memory worm?"

"Oh Strax," Mac shook her head.

~8~

Mac was shaking her head, her arms crossed over her chest as she stood beside the Doctor next to the carriage, watching as Strax tried to find the worm underneath it, "Can you see it?" the Doctor called.

"I think I can hear it," Strax replied.

The Doctor turned to look at Mac, but caught sight of Clara behind her, leaning on a building, trying in vain to hide a rather amused smile, "Oi," he pointed at her warningly, "Don't try to run away, stay where you are."

"Why would I run?" Clara scoffed, "I know what's going to happen next, and it's funny."

"Very funny," Mac agreed, winking at the girl, making her laugh more.

"What's funny?" the Doctor frowned, not catching it.

"You'll see," Mac patted him on the shoulder, she wanted to see it happen too.

"Your little pal," Clara nodded at Strax, "Ugly little fella, isn't he?"

"Maybe," the Doctor shrugged, "He gave his life for Kenzie and I though."

"Then how come he's alive?"

"Twas but a flesh wound," Mac chuckled, glancing back at her, "He thought he was more hurt than he was."

"I can see it!" Strax called.

"Ooh!" the Doctor grinned and leaned over, "Can you reach it? Have you got it?"

"…got what, sir?" Strax asked a moment later.

Clara walked over to the side of the carriage and pulled two thick, Sontaran-shaped gloves off the side, "These are the gauntlets, aren't they?"

The Doctor stared at them a moment before rubbing his head in exasperation, Strax however, called out, "Emergency! I think I've been run over by a cab!"

~8~

"Take 3," Mac murmured as she watched the Doctor attempting to get the memory worm this time, wearing Strax's heavy, thick gloves for safety.

"Ha ha!" the Doctor cheered as he grabbed the wiggling worm tightly, straightening up. It looked like a little white lump but with teeth on the end, "There you go. One touch and you lose about an hour of your memory. Let it bite you and you could lose decades," he moved over to Mac as she held an open jar up with the fabric of her skirt to avoid it touching her as it slithered into the jar.

"I'm impressed Clara," Mac remarked, glancing at her as the Doctor shut the lid on the worm, "We've essentially taken you hostage and spoken of forcibly erasing your memory…and you're STILL here."

"I don't understand how the snowman built itself," she shrugged, "I'll run once you've explained."

"Curious are you?"

"Very."

"Clara who?" the Doctor eyed her.

"Doctor who?" she countered.

"Don't do that," Mac shook her head with a smiled, "Don't."

The Doctor let out a long breath, "The snow emits a low level telepathic field…" he began to explain, but Mac frowned when she saw Clara turn her head as though looking at something beside her, around the corner of the alley instead.

"My snowman..." Clara breathed and Mac moved over to her, looking where she was vaguely pointing to see one was there.

"What about it?" she asked, not quite sure why Clara was so alarmed to see it.

"…seems to reflect people's thoughts and memories," the Doctor was still talking, oblivious as ever, "And because it's unusual, somehow it carries a previous shape and..."

"It just appeared there," Clara told her.

"Doctor?" Mac called and he instantly stopped talking and made his way over to her, looking at the snowman.

"Ah! Interesting," he eyed it, stepping closer, "Well, were you thinking about it?"

"Yes," Clara nodded…and a second one popped up instantly beside the first.

"You may want to stop doing that," Mac advised, turning them around, only for a third one to pop up.

"Clara, stop thinking about the snowmen!" the Doctor cried, but more and more appeared, surrounding them, their mouths opening to try and breathe an icy breath on them, "Get down!" he pulled Mac to the ground, Clara ducking low as well.

Mac turned and took Clara's hands, "Clara, calm down and listen…the snow is using your thoughts to create the snowmen."

"I don't understand," she shook her head.

Mac squeezed her hands, "There's a telepathic field around us, and it's latching onto you because your mind is less guarded than ours. You think of them, sweetie, and they appear," she glanced at the side, at the snowmen getting closer, "So think of them melting, do it and they'll melt too!"

Clara closed her eyes and focused hard, only opening them when a splash sounded and a few droplets of water struck her. She looked around to see the snowmen were gone, just puddles of water left.

"Very good," the Doctor praised, "Very, very good!"

"Brilliant job sweetie," Mac gave her a comforting hug before helping her up.

"Is that going to happen again?" Clara panted, looking at the puddles warily.

"If it does, you know what to do about it," the Doctor shrugged.

"Unless I forget," Clara pointed out with a smirk, trapping them.

"Oh I like you Clara," Mac laughed.

~8~

Clara was gone, or so they'd assumed, they'd made sure to move the TARDIS to keep her from finding them…again. Just after they'd tried the memory worm on her and realized that if they did they'd be leaving her defenseless against the snowmen, they'd sent her off with Strax in a carriage, the Doctor being quite firm that it wasn't their problem anymore when Clara asked about warning people. They'd thought they'd sent her off, though in hindsight, they should have realized she'd follow them as she had after leaving the tavern. They'd walked through the streets, pulled a ladder down from the sky, and climbed up it and a long spiral staircase to the TARDIS as she sat on a cloud. They were about to settle in for some tea, when there was a knock on the door…and they'd found Clara's red shawl moments later.

So, of course, they moved the cloud and TARDIS so she couldn't get to them again.

But as luck would have it only a few hours later the phone was ringing and Vastra was calling, she'd had a little chat with Clara too, given her some odd one-word test to see what Clara's intentions were and was trying to warn them of a danger. The last word that she had asked Clara for, the reason why she should help the girl…was POND.

That was enough of a kick in the pants to the Doctor to have the Doctor realize the Ponds would want them to help, or at least look into the matter…and there they were, striding down the hall of 'the Great Intelligence Institute' after having claimed they were Mr. and Mrs. Sherlock Holmes of all people. Mac honestly wasn't sure why he didn't just plumb for Mr. and Mrs. Smith like he seemed to prefer.

They pushed a door open and strode into what appeared to be an office, a man with a rather long face and grim expression standing and speaking to the servant they'd introduced themselves too. It was quite funny how easily the servant had fallen for their ruse, but the Doctor certainly looked the part, an Inverness cap on, a deerstalker hat, a cane in hand, he looked every bit the part of Sherlock Holmes. Though the fact he had a wife should have clued the servant off first, but the man had taken off, excited to introduce them as the latest guests.

"Ooh, nice office," the Doctor grinned, looking around, "Big globey thing," he eyed a rather odd sphere-like object with snow fluttering around inside it, it was set up in the middle of the room, on a small platform, electricity and lights crackling around it, "Now, shut up, don't tell me!" he stepped forward and pointed his cane at the owner of the institute, a Dr. Simeon according to Vastra, keeping the man distracted while Mac made her way to the man's desk to investigate the papers and journals lying there, "I see from your collar stud you have an apple tree and a wife with a limp. Am I right?"

"No," Simeon deadpanned.

"But you've got a wife?"

"No."

"Bit of a tree? Bit of a wife? Some apples? Come on, work with me here."

"I enjoy The Strand magazine as much as the next man but I am perfectly aware that Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character as well as the fact that he is not married," his gaze flickered to Mac, "Don't touch that!"

But the Doctor lunged forward, getting in the way of Simeon as he headed for Mac and pointed his cane at the servant, "Do you have a goldfish named Colin?"

The poor man was so overwhelmed he actually had to take a moment to think about that, "No."

"Thought not," the Doctor grinned, turning back to Simeon.

"Who are you?" Simeon demanded, "What are you doing here?"

'_Dear?_' he called to Mac in his head.

'_Just a bit longer,_' she replied.

He nodded, "This!" and ran over to the sphere, starting to slam his cane against it, "Wakey, wakey!"

"That is highly valuable equipment!" Simeon ran for him, grabbing the cane away from him, making the Doctor smirk as his plan to get Simeon farther away from Mac worked, "You must step away now."

"We are the Intelligence," the sphere spoke, making both the Doctor and Mac look over at it.

"Oh!" the Doctor grinned, "Talking snow. I love new things. Love Kenzie more though."

"You are not of this world."

"Takes one to SNOW one!" the Doctor laughed, glancing at Mac.

"No," she shook her head.

He pouted a moment before he sighed, "Right, let's see," he moved to walk around the sphere, "Multi-nucleate, crystalline organism with the ability to mimic and mirror what it finds. Looks like snow. Isn't snow."

"You must leave here now!" Simeon hissed.

"Shut up, I'm making deductions, it's very exciting. Now, what are you, eh?" he started to pace, "A flock of space crystals? A swarm?" Mac glanced over to see him hurrying to a panel by the wall to ring a bell for help, the Doctor doing so as well, "The snowmen are foot soldiers, mindless predators. But you, you're the clever one. You're Moriarty. So you turn up on a planet, you generate a telepathic field to learn what you can," he pulled out his sonic and flashed the main doors, locking them, "And when you've learnt enough, what do you do? You can't conquer the world using snowmen. Snowmen are rubbish in July. You'll have to be better than that. You'll have to evolve. You need to translate yourself into something more, well, human. To do that you'd need a perfect duplicate of human DNA in ice form, where do you find that?"

"I know," Mac called and he turned to her, heading over to the desk as she held up a journal, pointing to a news clipping, "Governess frozen in pond," she stated, "The pond didn't thaw for three times as long as normal."

He grinned, "Gotcha," he smiled, taking her hand and pulling her out the side doors, Simeon occupied with trying to unlock the main ones.

~8~

Mac and the Doctor walked around the edge of the pond from the news clipping, it was frozen. Well, everything was frozen now that it was night, but they got the distinct impression that it hadn't melted since the winter set in, not even when the rest of the snow had thawed that morning. The Doctor soniced the pond as Mac knelt down and chipped away a shard of ice from it, holding it up in some tweezers and putting her lighter under it…but it wasn't melting at all.

"Body frozen in a pond," the Doctor sighed, "The snow gets a good long look at a human being, like a full body scan. Everything they need to evolve. Pond. Good point, Clara."

"She is rather clever, isn't she?" Mac smiled, standing up, brushing some snow from her skirt though they both paused and looked back when they heard someone walking up to see it was Strax with a gun in his hand, "Strax?"

"Madame Vastra wondered if you were needing any grenades?" he inquired.

"Grenades?" the Doctor repeated.

"She might have said help."

"Help for what?"

"Well, your investigation."

"Investigation?" he scoffed, "Who says we're investigating? Do you think I'm going to start investigating just because some bird smiles at me? Who do you think I am?"

"Sherlock Holmes," Strax answered back after a moment's thought.

"Good one Strax," Mac laughed, seeing the Doctor's putout expression as he realized he'd walked right into that one.

"Don't be clever, Strax, it doesn't suit you," the Doctor pointed at him.

Strax sighed, "Sorry, sir."

"I'm the clever one, Kenzie's the crafty one, and you're the potato one."

"Yes, sir."

"Now go away."

"Yes... Mr. Holmes," Strax grinned and hurried off.

"Oi!" the Doctor called even as Mac started to laugh, "Shut up, you're not clever or funny and you've got tiny little legs!" he huffed, "Sontarans."

Mac just made her way over to him, taking his hands, "So you won't investigate if some girl smiles at you?"

He started to smile, seeing the trap, "There's only two girls I'd make an exception for."

"Oh?"

"Yes, our daughter."

"And?"

He leaned in, winding his arms around her, "And my Chosen."

"Well then," she smiled up at him pointedly.

He let out a small laugh, "Let's investigate then," but just as they turned to look back at the pond, a light started to fall upon them. They looked up to see that a curtain had been opened on an upper floor of the house, warm candle light flickering around Clara as she waved at them from a window, motioning for them to come in.

"What do you think?" the Doctor looked at Mac.

"We ARE investigating," Mac mused, "If she works here or lives here, she might know more about the pond and what happened to the other woman."

He sighed, "Yes, yes," he nodded, turning to hold up a 5 at Clara that they'd be there in a moment. He took Mac's hand and led her to the house, though Mac glanced back at the pond for a moment, swearing she'd heard something like ice cracking.

~8~

The Time Lords hadn't been distracted no, the moment they reached the house, they kept a constant look out the window to see what was happening with the pond, sure that the ice was cracking but not wanting to be right there in case there was something coming out of it. And sure enough, there was, an icy version of a woman, likely the last governess that clawed itself out of the ice and onto the ground. What surprised them though was that, moments later, the ice woman had turned into flurries and drifted up towards the house, to a floor above them. They rushed up it, trying to get there before the ice woman did something, but they heard screaming and ran. They'd just reached a playroom when they heard Clara shouting and two children racing towards the room as well from behind another door. They realized the ice woman would likely follow and quickly prepared to stop her.

Clara bust through the door with the children, and they could hear her shouting for one of the children, a girl, to imagine the ice woman melting, but the girl was too scared to focus and all too soon the ice woman burst into the room.

"What about those two people?" the smaller child, a little boy cried, "You said there was a man and woman, the cloud people."

"They're not exactly here right now Digby," Clara tugged him back.

"Want to bet?" Mac called, making Clara gasp and spin around.

Mac rushed before the woman and children, her lighter and hairspray out, keeping the ice woman back with the flames as the Doctor got the right setting on the sonic and flicked it at the statue, causing it to shatter.

"Ha ha!" he cheered, "That's the way to do it! Yes," he quickly moved over to Mac and hugged her tightly, spinning her around in joy.

"Where did she go?" the girl asked, Francesca if they recalled Clara's shouting, "Will she come back?"

"No, don't worry. She's currently draining through your carpet. New setting," he flipped the sonic, putting it away, "Anti-freeze."

"And even if she does," Mac wiggled her items, "Ice and fire don't mix well."

"And you're very welcome, by the way," the Doctor added to Clara.

"I'm very grateful," Clara breathed, "I knew you'd come."

"No, you didn't, because I don't. Because this isn't the sort of thing I do any more. Next time you're in trouble, don't expect me to come swooping in."

"Alright then," she crossed her arms, "I'll expect her to," she nodded at Mac, "I knew you'd come because I could tell SHE would."

"And how do you know that?" Mac asked, not disagreeing but curious.

"You look like a mum," Clara shrugged, seeing the two stiffen, "And a father," she added, "You wouldn't leave anyone in danger, not really."

The Doctor blinked at that and stepped closer to Mac, taking her hand, just…needing the comfort, that someone could see something like that in them so suddenly…it both warmed their hearts and hurt to remember.

"It's cooler," Clara remarked, trying to change the subject, seeing the sadness in their eyes, "The room is getting colder…"

Francesca gasped as the rug began to move, looking almost like there was something slithering beneath it, a lump rising up, quite a few of them, "She's coming back! What's she going to do? Is she going to punish me?"

"She will NOT lay a single hand on you," Mac promised her, touching her shoulder and tugging the girl back behind her, "On either of you."

"See," Clara smiled, "Such a mum."

The Doctor flashed the sonic at the pieces and realized the horrible truth when they failed to stop moving, "She's learnt not to melt. Run!" he grabbed Mac's hand, the two of them ushering the children and Clara out ahead of them as the ice woman reformed behind them and lunged after them.

A/N: Apologies :( I think I need to set my alarms with an extra five minutes on days I have to really get early starts on :( My last final was this morning and I practically posted and ran out of the house to get there on time -sigh- I need more patience when it comes to posting and not clicking out of the window before it happens :( But I put it up the second I got back home :)

And I can say I'll definitely and officially be adding the AU-Master lives to my AU list ^-^ You guys blew me away with your votes! :) I can't say when it will be posted though. The AUs were always meant to be a sort of thing I'd do after I caught up to all my TLs (TLs 5-8) and to do in the off seasons between series. But since I'll take me about 7 months to catch up all my TLs once a series is over and with DW lasting about 3 months a season, that only leaves about 2 months for the AUs :/ I'll have to consider how I want to do that and when I want to post them lol :)

Some notes on reviews...

Yup :) I saw a post about that on tumblr once about the tie :)


	10. The Snowmen - Part 2

The Snowmen - Part 2

The Doctor and Mac ran as fast as they could down the hall, following the children as they clambered down the stairs to the main foyer, "Children?" a man they could only assume was their father called, "What is exp..." he stopped suddenly as the Doctor and Mac neared the bottom of the stairs, "Who the devil are you?! What are you doing in my house?"

"It's ok," the Doctor smiled, "We're you governess' friends, and we've just been upstairs...um…"

"Helping save your children from a living ice sculpture of your last governess," Mac answered, the Doctor rubbing his forehead at that.

"Captain Latimer!" a ginger maid called, rushing in, "In the garden, there's snowmen! And they're just growing, out of nowhere, all by themselves, look!" she ran to the front door, throwing it open, ready to show him the snowmen she'd spotted popping up…but Vastra and Jenny were standing on the doorstep.

"Good evening," Vastra greeted with a small nod of her head, "I'm a lizard woman from the dawn of time and this is my wife!"

The maid spun around and ran down the hall, intent to head back to the garden area…when Strax stepped into her way, "This dwelling is under attack! Remain calm, human scum!"

Mac winced and rushed forward as the woman collapsed in a faint, quickly checking her over to make sure she hadn't harmed herself in her fall, lightly slapping her cheeks to try and wake her up.

"So!" the Doctor clapped his hands nonchalantly, "Any questions?"

"I've got one," Mac nodded, standing and using the hem of her skirt to try and fan the maid, "Vastra, what's going on with the snow?"

"It's highly localized," Vastra warned them, "And on this occasion not naturally occurring."

"It's coming out of that cab parked by the gates," Jenny added.

"One pulver grenade would blow these snowmen to smithereens," Strax declared, seeming to be about to reach for just such a grenade in his pocket when the Doctor stopped him.

"They're made of snow, Strax," he sighed, "They're already smithereens. See, Clara, our friends again."

The father frowned, "Clara? Who's Clara?"

"You use an alias too then?" Mac glanced at her, only to gasp, seeing the ice woman shuffling to the landing above them, "Doctor!"

"That's the way to do it," the ice woman cackled.

"Ah, yes," the Doctor winced, glancing at the father as he stared in shock and horror at the woman above them, "Your previous governess is now a living ice sculpture. Jenny, what have you got?"

"Hold on," Mac called, holding up a hand to Jenny to wait a moment before she grabbed a cane from a nearby bin and rushed up the stairs.

"Kenzie!" the Doctor shouted, lunging up after her, but she just swung the cane, managing to shatter the ice woman's arms as she tried to swing at her.

"Now!" Mac jumped back and Jenny threw some sort of device at the ice woman, creating a red field around her, trapping her. Mac smiled and tossed the Doctor the cane, "Should slow her down and keep her from hurting anyone a bit longer," she nodded.

"Sir, this room," Strax called from behind them, his head sticking out from one of the doorways, "One observational window on the line of attack and one defendable entrance."

"Good as any a place to hide in," Mac agreed.

"Right," the Doctor nodded, "Everyone in there now. Move it. You," he snapped his fingers at the father, "Carry her," and pointed at the maid, before he turned to the ice woman, flashing the sonic at her as Mac leaned in to look more intently at her through the field, the humans hurrying off to the room Strax had secured.

"Nice to see you off your cloud and engaging again," Vastra smirked, having stuck around.

"We're not engaging again, my Chosen is under attack," the Doctor defended.

"We were off the cloud and talking to people and investigating long before I fell under any danger, dear," Mac smirked at him, moving down the stairs to smile at him.

"Admit it," Vastra smiled, "You missed this, didn't you?"

The Doctor pouted, "Shut up," he huffed, taking Mac's hand and hurrying with her and Vastra to the room to see it was a study of sorts.

"Strax," Mac called, "How long do you think we have before the enemy attacks?"

"They're not going to attack," Strax countered, "They made no attempt to conceal their arrival. An attack force would never abandon surprise so easily - and they're clearly in a defense formation."

The Doctor grinned at that, immensely relieved, "Well done, Straxie, still got it!" he laughed, giving Strax a noogie on the head before he kissed it, grimacing at the taste.

"Sir, please do not noogie me during combat prep!"

"So there's something here they want," Vatsra reasoned.

"The Ice Woman!" Clara stood with a start from where she'd been trying to calm the children.

"Seems so," Mac bit her lip at that, having what the enemy wanted could be a good or very bad thing. Good as it could lead to negotiations, bad because if the enemy was more aggressive they might attack for it. It didn't seem likely that Simeon's forces would attack, as Strax said, but the fact they were surrounded and had an enemy within wasn't good.

"Why's she so important?" Jenny frowned.

"Because she's a perfect duplication of human DNA in ice crystal form," the Doctor explained, "The ultimate fusion of snow and humanity," he started to pace in thought, "To live here, the snow needs to evolve and she's the blueprint. She's what they need to become."

"Clara," Mac turned to her, "That pond out there…did it melt in the thaw?"

"No," Clara shook her head.

"Nor did it when I actually used fire on it," Mac sighed.

"Living ice that will never melt," the Doctor mused, "If the snow gets hold of that creature on the stairs, it will learn to make more of them. It will build an army of ice. And it will be the last day of humanity on this planet," they all looked up, the Time Lords stiffening when they heard the doorbell ring. The Doctor and Mac glanced at each other, knowing exactly who it would be.

"You lot," Mac looked at them all, "You STAY here," she gave them pointed looks before she and the Doctor stepped out of the room, only to pause a moment and hold a finger up, "That means you too Clara!"

The Doctor glanced back to see that the doorknob had turned but was released to turn back, "You're not my mum!" Clara huffed through the door but stayed in the room.

"I'm everybody's mum," Mac rolled her eyes.

"Not mine," the Doctor smirked at that.

Mac just shook her head with a smile and took his hand, heading off for the front door, opening it to reveal Simeon, as they expected. They were all silent, staring each other down.

"It's rude to stare," Mac had to say, making the Doctor's lip quirk up at the minor scolding.

"Release her to us," was all Simeon said, snowmen popping up behind him, "You have five minutes."

They waited till he started to walk off before closing the doors, "Well…he's at least one of the more polite enemies," Mac muttered.

"Must be the Vic…"

"If you say Victorian Values I'm going to have to tell you to stop talking."

He beamed at that, "Victorian Values."

Mac rolled her eyes and leaned in to give him a peck on the lips. Over the near 300 years they'd been without the Ponds, the first 200 trying to learn about the Silence, the last 100 just giving them space, she'd slowly started to use a kiss as a way to stop him talking than her little 'stop talking' motion, he seemed to enjoy it more. She was considering going back to her old motion though…namely because he tended to try and talk even more now that he got a kiss out of it.

"Right," he clapped his hands together, rubbing them, "We need to get her out of here, but keep her away from them."

"The roof?" she looked at him.

He twirled the cane she'd tossed to him that he hadn't let go of in his hands, "The roof," he agreed, the two of them turning to head for the stairs when the father and Clara ran up to them.

"Those creatures outside, what are they?" the father asked.

"No danger to you, as long as we get that thing out of here!" the Doctor reassured him.

"So please," Mac reached out to put a hand on his arm, "Keep an eye on your children."

The father swallowed hard and ran back, but Clara remained, watching them as they approached the stairs, the Doctor using the sonic, "What are you doing?"

"He's got NO idea at all," Mac sighed, the Doctor grinning as he flicked the sonic and the field around the ice woman expanded to cover them, Clara stepping right within the expanded field quickly.

"Right," the Doctor nodded, "If you look after everyone here, then we can...Clara!" he huffed, seeing her behind them but in the field.

"Down!" Mac grabbed the Doctor's arm and pulled him down as the ice woman, with her one arm now reattached, swung at them. They ducked under her arm and bolted up the stairs.

"That was stupid!" the Doctor shouted at Clara.

"You were stupid, too!" Clara countered.

"We actually know what we're doing Clara!" Mac argued.

"That's the way to do it!" the ice woman screeched, following them up the stairs.

"Why does she keep saying that?" Clara panted as they made it to the landing.

"Mirroring, random mirroring," the Doctor waved it off.

"What's the fastest way to the roof?" Mac turned to her.

But instead of answering, Clara grabbed Mac's hand and pulled her off, "This way!"

Mac grabbed the Doctor's hand in the process and hauled him off with them as Clara led them down the hall and to a window, pushing it open to reveal a small, flat portion of the roof on the other side. The Doctor turned, helping Mac through first, Clara smiling as she saw the tenderness and focus in his eyes as he made sure she was through, before he turned and told her to go in after her, not wanting to leave her to be the last to face the ice woman if she reached them. She nearly laughed a bit at that, shaking her head as she moved to climb through, SUCH a father he was.

"Ah," she winced, stopping halfway through.

"Clara, what's wrong?" Mac rushed over to her from where she was looking over the side of the house.

"My bustle is stuck."

"Your bustle?!" the Doctor glanced at Clara's dress, "Kenzie?"

"I've got it," Mac nodded, knowing that this was quite unlike the tale he'd told her of how he'd gotten a rather plump man through a small debris tunnel on a replica Titanic, he didn't want to touch Clara's backside, so she grabbed the girl's arms and pulled, wiggling her arms a bit to loosen her bustle and Clara nearly fell through it. But she'd braced herself and managed to grab Clara under her forearms for leverage so that she stumbled instead of fell, "You alright sweetie?" Mac looked at her.

"Fine," Clara panted as the Doctor hopped through, "Thanks. So," she glanced between them, "What's the plan?"

"Who said we've got a plan?" the Doctor glanced at her.

"Course you've got a plan," she nodded, "Why else would you keep that," she nodded at the cane in his hand.

"Maybe I'm an idiot."

"There's no maybe about that one," Mac murmured teasingly.

"I don't think that's it," Clara shook her head, "You're clever. Really clever."

"Wait till you see Kenzie get going," the Doctor winked at her, "The things she's made? Blimey."

"What about you though Clara?" Mac smiled at her, "Are you clever?"

The Doctor tossed her the cane, "If we've got a plan, what is it? You tell me."

"That's the way to do it!" the ice woman cackled as she appeared in the window, now with both arms attached.

"Is this a test?" Clara frowned.

"Could be," Mac shrugged.

Clara glanced at the ice woman, "What will it do to us?"

"What do you think it will?"

"Kill us," she swallowed hard, seeing the ice woman turn into small flurries, blowing through the window to reform on the roof.

"So, come on then," the Doctor egged her on, "Plan, do we have one?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "Yeah you do. And I know what it is," she tossed him the cane.

"No, you don't," he challenged, tossing the cane back and starting a toss off.

"Course I did."

"Show us."

"Why should I?"

"Because if you don't the ice woman will kill us," Mac cut in, amused by the little toss about going on but really wanting to get a safer distance away from the ice woman.

"So, what's our plan?" the Doctor grinned.

"If we'd been escaping," Clara began, speaking nearly as quickly as the Doctor's last self could, pacing with the cane, "We'd be climbing down the building. If we'd be hiding, we'd be on the other side of the roof. But we're standing right here."

"So…"

"So," Clara smirked and turned the cane upside down, hooking the curved end on the bottom of the ladder to the TARDIS, pulling it down, "After you."

"After you," the Doctor shook his head, gesturing to the ladies to go first.

"No, really Doctor," Mac laughed, "Glass floor."

The Doctor blinked, confused for a moment, before his eyes widened and he blushed, hurrying to the ladder as the girls were in dresses.

Mac smiled at that and started to climb up the one side of the ladder as Clara got on the other side, the girl pausing to look at the ice woman as she finished forming, "I understand you're the previous governess," Clara began, "I regret to inform you the position is taken," she tapped the side of the ladder with the cane, "Goodnight," and the ladder rose up into the air, up to the small staircase platform that led to the TARDIS, "So you can move your cloud?" Clara blinked as the Doctor helped them onto the platform, "You can control it."

"Hardly," Mac smiled, "There's no cloud belt here to control with delta waves," she shook her head, "We just manipulated the wind a bit.

They all looked down when they felt the ladder start to shake and spotted the ice woman climbing up towards them, "She's following us!" Clara gasped.

"Just according to plan," Mac nodded.

"Keep her away from the snow," the Doctor agreed, taking Mac's hand and turning to pull her up the staircase, Clara rushing after them, "So, barmaid or governess, which is it?"

"That thing is after us, and you want a chat?" Clara scoffed.

"Seems to be the only time he wants to chat with humans," Mac mused.

"Well, we can't chat after we've been horribly killed, can we?" he huffed.

"How did we get up so high so quick?" Clara blinked as they reached the top of the stairs in mere moments.

"Clever staircase, it's taller on the inside!" he stepped onto the cloud, Mac heading right for the TARDIS parked before them, the poor old box looking a bit worse for the wear, pulling her key from around her neck, while he turned to the staircase and soniced the cloud to cover their entrance.

"What am I standing on, what's this made of?" Clara looked around.

"Super-dense water vapor. Should keep her trapped, for the moment," he hurried over to Mac as she opened the doors to the box.

"So you actually live up here?" Clara started to follow them, "On a cloud, in a box?"

"We have done, for a long time."

"Blimey, you really know how to sulk."

"We're not sulking!" he huffed.

"Well, I'M not," Mac corrected with a light, understanding smile as she stepped into the box.

"You live in a box," Clara tried to point out, "The two of you."

"This is no more a box than you are a governess," the Doctor countered, moving after Mac and joining her at the console.

Clara's eyes narrowed at that, "Oh, spoken like a man! You're the same as all the rest. Sweet little Clara, works at the Rose and Crown, ideas above her station! For your information, I'm not sweet on the inside, and I'm certainly not..." she cut herself off as Mac turned on the light, illuminating the box, revealing the new console room to her, "Little."

It was more like a machine now, sleek, metal, with proper levers and controls, Gallifreyan symbols above them on a rotating rotor, the glow of the main rotor as blue as ever. There was a small stair leading up to a hall and another down to the under area, the jump seat was gone and replaced with a set of controls that went around the side of the railings, a black chair set in the middle of them. It truly looked like a proper machine.

"Welcome to the TARDIS, Clara," Mac smiled.

"It can travel anywhere in time and space," the Doctor nodded, reaching out to take Mac's hand, "And it's _ours_."

Technically it was his, he was the only recognized pilot, but he insisted the TARDIS was as much Mac's as it was his. They lived there, it was their home, they both flew it, she was like the unofficial pilot. She could do everything except form a psychic bond with the box or take a companion, but the box was just as much hers as his.

"But it's..." Clara breathed, "Look at it, it's..."

"Go on," the Doctor grinned, "Say it, most people do."

Clara merely blinked and ran outside and they knew she was hurrying around the box to see if it really was as big on the inside as it appeared. She ran back in, pausing only a moment before saying, "It's smaller on the outside!"

The Doctor blinked at that as Mac started to laugh, "Ok," he nodded, "That is a first."

"Is it magic?" Clara asked as she stepped further in, looking around in awe, "Is it a machine?"

"It's a spaceship," Mac offered, moving over to the center controls.

"A ship?"

"Best ship in the universe," the Doctor agreed.

"Is there a kitchen?" Clara wandered over to the two of them at the console.

"Another first."

"I don't know why I asked that, it's just... I like making soufflés."

The Time Lords stiffened at that, her words, her choice of hobby striking them, "Souffles?" they asked at the same time.

But Clara just spun around, her back to the open doors, her hands on her hips as she faced them, "Why are you showing me all this?"

"You followed us, remember?" the Doctor turned back to the console, "I didn't invite you."

"You as good as," Mac countered, poking him as she passed him, heading to her own spot at the controls.

Clara smirked at that, seeing her theory confirmed, "You're both nearly a foot taller than I am," Clara pointed out, "You could've reached the ladder without this," she wiggled the cane, "You kept it for me," she tossed it to Mac, though her gaze was on the Doctor, of the two of them, he seemed the most cut off at first, "Why?"

Mac smiled at that and nudged the Doctor, "Go on," she whispered, staying back by the console to watch, this was something he had to do as the pilot, it was on him to ask her.

He sighed but nodded, heading over to her, "I never know why. I only know who," he pulled a key to the TARDIS out of his pocket, putting it in her hand and folding her fingers over it.

"What's this?" Clara breathed.

"Me. Giving in."

"Vastra owes me 10 quid," Mac smiled.

"You were taking bets on this?" the Doctor turned to her as Clara giggled and wiped at her eyes, tears falling from them as she cried in joy.

"Yes," she nodded, "I bet you'd be your old self by Christmas, she bet New Years."

The Doctor just smiled and made his way towards her, "What if I don't want to be my old self?" he teased, winding his arms around her, "What if I want a hint of it in my new self."

"Whichever self you are," she smiled at him, "I just want you happy," she rested a hand on his hearts in the middle of his chest.

"You make me happy," he taped his nose to hers.

"Good," she beamed, "Now…let's make Clara happy too."

He chuckled, "Yes," he nodded, turning to rush to one side of the console as Mac took the other, calling out to Clara, "Remember this, Clara, this right now, remember all of it. Because this is the day…this is the day everything begins!"

Or it was the day that everything ended for Clara gave a scream of terror instead of joy and they looked up to see her being dragged back by the ice woman that had managed to sneak up on her and grab her from behind.

"Clara!" Mac cried, she and the Doctor rushing after her but the ice woman was surprisingly fast for being made of ice.

"Get off of me!" Clara struggled in the ice woman's arms.

The Doctor soniced the ice woman, trying anything to work but all he got was a residual of how the ice woman had made it there in the first place, "Water vapor doesn't stop ice, I should've realized!"

"Let her go!" Mac shouted at the ice woman, running for her, "You let her go!"

But it was too late, the ice woman stepped back, allowing herself to fall off the cloud, taking Clara with her.

"CLARA!" the two Time Lords screamed, hurrying to the end of the cloud and looking over as she fell, her hand outstretched towards them. They ran back to the TARDIS, hoping they could get the box to her in time to catch her like they had their daughter…but all that appeared…was Clara, lying on the floor of the box, with shards of ice around her.

~8~

It was pure horror after that moment, when the Time Lords brought Clara back to the house to try and keep her safe. Mac sat by her, refused to leave, just pulled up a chair and sat by her side, holding her hand and helping Strax get his technology to help prolong her life, try and give them more time to help her, up and running. The Doctor had gone into the TARDIS, retreated more, to try and work out the ice woman, what was left of her. Mac wanted to follow him, to comfort him, but…she knew he'd latch onto hope, that Clara would get better, that he'd be ok for now and he'd need her more if Clara passed…but right now Clara was weak and in pain and hurt and she couldn't bring herself to just leave her. So she sat there, by her side, stroking the girl's hair as she held her hand, trying to be a comfort to her.

She looked up when the Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, Vastra having gone to try and speak to him, and offered him a small smile. He returned it and headed over to them, mirroring her in taking Clara's other hand, gently stroking her hair with is free hand to gently wake her, "Hello," he whispered as her eyes fluttered open.

"They all think I'm going to die, don't they?" Clara asked them both weakly.

"And we know you're going to live."

"How?"

The Doctor just pulled out the key she'd dropped on the TARDIS floor, "I never know how," he murmured, placing it in her hand, "I just know who," he closed her fingers around it and squeezed her hand a moment more.

"The green lady... she said you two were the saver of worlds once," she glanced between them, "Are you going to save this one?"

Mac nodded, "We'll try our hardest," she promised.

"And after," the Doctor whispered, "Do you want to go on an adventure with us?"

Clara smiled at the thought, "Yes."

"Well then," he kissed her hand, "Merry Christmas."

Mac stood up and made her way over to the Doctor, straightening his bowtie, and just…looked at him. Neither of them needed to speak to know what the other was thinking. She couldn't go with him, despite wanting to, despite wanting to see this evil that had harmed Clara dealt with…the girl was scared and dying and she couldn't bring herself to leave her like that, she wanted to comfort her. Who knew how long they'd be and she didn't want to risk Clara passing alone.

He nodded, leaning in to kiss her deeply, resting his forehead to hers in a silent promise that he'd see this through, he'd see this evil ended and he'd come back to her. He gave her one more kiss before he turned and grabbed a metal lunchbox he'd handed Jenny with the shards of the ice woman in it and headed out of the room to confront Simeon.

~8~

It broke Mac's hearts to sit there, holding Clara's hand as the girl grew weaker, to see her suffering and her fear but see her try to cover it up for the children as they sobbed into their father's chest, Clara having urged him to hold them. The snowmen that had surrounded the house had grown in numbers, so much so that Jenny, who had remained with them while Vastra went with the Doctor, feared they might try to attack. And, right when it seemed like they might, they'd melted into water, all the snow that was falling did the same, turning into rain. Salty rain, tears.

Mac had been rigid in the chair beside Clara, her senses as open as she could make them, trying to be attentive to Clara while also trying to get some sort of sense off the Doctor, see if he was ok. For a brief moment she'd felt cold, an icy pain, could swear she'd heard him screaming in her mind, but it was over quickly, and then, before they knew it, the TARDIS was back.

Mac left Clara's side for the first time since the Doctor had left, to hug him tightly as he stepped out of the box, the solemn air all he needed to know about Clara's status.

But Strax gave his own report nonetheless, "I'm sorry. There was nothing to be done. She has moments only."

The Doctor swallowed hard and Mac took his hand, leading him over to the table Clara was lying on, moving to her other side as they stopped, one on each side of her, "We saved the world, Clara," the Doctor whispered to her, "The three of us. We really, really did."

It took longer for Clara to blink awake this time and they knew from the softness of her voice that this was it, seconds remained, "Will you go back... to your cloud?"

"No," Mac promised, squeezing Clara's hand, "I won't let him."

"Good," Clara nodded, "You're too…kind to sulk."

The Doctor smiled at that, "Sleep well Clara," he murmured, kissing her hand again as her eyes fluttered closed.

"Run," Clara spoke with her last few breaths, "Run, you clever boy, you sweet girl," she screwed up the last bit of strength she had to look at them one more time, "And remember," before her eyes closed one final time.

Mac quickly moved to the Doctor's side, hugging him tightly, the two of them deaf to the church bells ringing in the distance, signaling the start of Christmas Day.

~8~

The Time Lords stood with Vastra and Jenny in a small graveyard a short distance away from the house, watching as the children and their father mourned Clara, the particular grave they were standing before being that of Clara's.

"And what about the Intelligence?" Vastra wondered as they stood a distance away, giving the family privacy, "Melted with the snow?"

"I doubt it," Mac sighed, thinking of the story the Doctor had told her of what happened with him and Vastra. They'd confronted the snow as a mirror for Simeon's darkest thoughts and, using the memory worm, had taken his memories of the Intelligence, rendering it mute…or so they hoped. Instead the Intelligence possessed Simeon and attacked, but Clara's death, the sorrow of all those in the house, and still caught in the telepathic web, had made the snow melt into tears, destroying the Intelligence, or its physical form.

"It learned to survive beyond physical form," the Doctor agreed as though reading her thoughts.

"Well, we can't be in much danger from a disembodied Intelligence that thinks it can invade the world with snowmen," Jenny tried to get them to smile.

"Or that the London Underground is a key strategic weakness," Vastra added as a joke to the Doctor.

He ignored the comment though and just thought about it, "The Great Intelligence... rings a bell... the Great Intelligence?"

"You encountered it in past incarnations," Mac reminded him, "IN the London Underground once," she sighed, "The Brig had it in his files."

"Ah yes," he nodded, "Knew it sounded familiar…" he trailed off when he caught sight of the full name inscribed on the stone when the family departed, walking towards it with Mac as her eyes widened at the sight.

Clara OSWIN Oswald!

"Doctor?" Jenny called, but he was silent, "Mackenzie?"

"Her name…" Mac breathed, "Oswin Oswald…"

"Souffle girl," the Doctor nodded, thinking of the Asylum as well, "Oswin, it was her. It was Soufflé Girl again!"

"It was her voice," Mac agreed, "The voice we heard before we got through intensive care!"

"The same woman, twice, and she died both times, the same woman!"

"What are you talking about?" Vastra frowned.

"Something's going on, something impossible, something..."

"Something we need to look into, right now," Mac took his hand, pulling him away as they started to run off.

"You two stay here, stay right here!" the Doctor called back to them, "Don't move an inch."

"Are you coming back?" Vastra asked.

"Not likely!" Mac laughed.

"But where are you going?"

"To find her, to find Clara!" the Doctor cheered with a whoop and a laugh, the two of them darting into the TARDIS, hurrying around the console to put in commands, "Clara! Oswin! Oswald! Watch us run."

Mac grinned and pulled a lever, sending them off, what a Christmas gift that would be to find Clara alive and well somewhere and to get another chance to protect her from whatever was going on.

And protect her they would.

They just had to find her first.

A/N: I hate rain sometimes :( My town got hit with a bit of a bigger storm last night, it knocked out our cable and internet :( I've been trying it literally every 10 minutes since about 6am and it JUST came back! Woo! So here's the chapter, hope you like it ;)

Poor Clara :( I always felt so bad when she died, more for how she died, to fall like that and come back, just to die slowly again :( I was so torn, wanting Mac to confront the GI, but I couldn't get her to leave Clara in that state :(

Some notes on reviews...

Mac knows of the Great Intelligence through UNIT reports :)

That's a cool way to start a story, you should go for it ;)


	11. A Chance Encounter

A Chance Encounter

Mac and the Doctor were in a park, Mac sitting on a swing, the Doctor behind her, not pushing her but his hands were on the chains of it, both of them just lost in thought as they looked at the other children playing around with a soft smile on their faces. They'd been looking for Clara, trying to track her down, but it wasn't easy. For someone who seemed to be in two places after having died in front of them…they'd been hoping for a third time. But that was the problem, they didn't know where that third time would happen. They didn't know where or when or what Clara it would be.

They didn't know how it was possible for the two Claras…or 1 Clara and 1 Oswin…to even exist! Oh they had their theories. Mac believed that it was twins, that had grown up in Victorian London, and perhaps one had gotten sucked into a Vortex or kidnapped by another alien and ended up adapting to life on the Alaska. But that wouldn't explain how the second Clara didn't ask them about the first. If someone had lost their sibling, that would have been the first thing they ask time travelers, but Clara had just been content to wander around the box and fight snowmen. The Doctor, on the other hand, thought that Clara was just a series of clones, like Flesh avatars but actual clones running around. But why?

Each theory and each idea ended up sounding more ridiculous and more like a plot from a TV show or soap opera the longer they kept going at it.

"Hello," a voice called beside them and they looked over to see that a young girl had rushed up to them, had gotten onto the swing beside them. She was a cute girl, her brown hair in pigtails, wearing a winter jacket.

"Hello," they both greeted.

"Why are you on the swings?" she asked.

"Why shouldn't we be?" the Doctor smiled.

"Because you're old!"

"Oh, never talk about a woman's age," Mac winked at her, laughing.

"My mum says I shouldn't talk to strange people either," the girl added.

"That's very good advice, you never know what sort of madmen are out there," Mac joked, reaching up to place a hand on the Doctor's.

"Are you a madman?" the girl looked at the Doctor, seeing the gesture, picking up on the meaning surprisingly quickly.

The Doctor chuckled, "Yes, I most certainly am."

The little girl nodded, eyeing them, seeing their gaze drift over to the children and the parents around, seeing the Doctor drop his other hand to Mac's shoulder and giving it a squeeze, "Are you lonely?"

"What?" Mac glanced over.

"You have each other," she nodded, "But you look lonely."

"And why would we be lonely?" the Doctor inquired.

The girl shrugged, "Because you're sad. Have you lost something?"

"No."

"Yes," Mac countered, in a way they HAD lost something…repeatedly it seemed.

She nodded, thinking about that, "When I lose something, I go to a quiet place, and I close my eyes, and then I can remember where I put it!"

"Good plan," the Doctor smiled at her.

"We should try I tone day," Mac mused softly.

"I'm always losing things," the girl continued, "I lost my best pencil, my school bag, my gran, and my mojo."

"Your mojo?" the Doctor put a hand on his left heart, feigning shock and alarm for the girl's benefit.

"I got it back though," she told them with a laugh.

"Good on you," Mac smiled, "I'd hate to lose my mojo."

"I'd hate it too," the Doctor agreed, winking at Mac, making her roll her eyes playfully.

"What did you lose?" the girl tilted her head at them.

"Our friend," the Doctor sighed, "We met her twice before and lost her both times and now we don't think we'll ever find her again."

"Have you been looking?"

"Everywhere we can think," Mac nodded, "She's just…nowhere."

The girl frowned, feeling sorry for them, "That's sad."

"It is a bit," the Doctor agreed.

Mac looked over, seeing a woman that looked a bit like the girl beside them talking to a woman, but her eyes were scanning the crowd of children, seeming about ready to leave and looking for her daughter, "Is that your mother?" she nodded towards the woman.

"Yeah, I better go and see if she's alright," the girl sighed.

"Why?" Mac glanced at her, "Is she ok?"

The girl bit her lip, "She's…she's a bit ill."

"We're sorry," Mac offered.

"You should go then," the Doctor agreed, not wanting to keep the girl or worry the mother.

"How are you gonna find her?" the girl got off her swing and turned to them.

"Well, the first two times we met her, we just sort of bumped into her so we thought, maybe, if we just wandered about a bit we might bump into her again. You know like…like destiny. Sort of."

The girl gave him an incredulous and amused look, "That's rubbish!"

"I tried telling him that," Mac laughed, "Repeatedly. He never listens."

"Oi," the Doctor poked her, "I listen to you all the time. You're the only one I listen to."

"That's because I'm the only one who knows how to shut you up," Mac joked, grinning up at him.

He had to smile at that though, he rather loved how she told him to stop talking now, he got quite a few free kisses out of it.

"Maybe we should go find a quiet room and have a good think about it instead," he offered.

"That would be better," the girl nodded, "Goodbye!" she called, turning to hurry off.

"Goodbye," the Doctor waved.

"Bye," Mac added.

But the girl suddenly stopped and turned to them, "I hope you find her again," she smiled at them.

"We do too," Mac nodded, giving her a small wave as the girl hurried off.

The two Time Lords sighed and got up, turning to head back to the TARDIS, really wanting to find Clara…

And having no idea that the girl they'd just spoken to…was Clara herself.

A/N: I really loved this little minisode :) I think we learn a lot about Clara's personality here seeing her as a child :)

Some notes on reviews...

I can't say if it'll be a Library fix-it, we'll have to wait and see what the Doctor was planning in the show ;) But she's their daughter here so I think they'd fight even harder to save her :)

We'll have to wait and see who Clara will be, I can say we'll find out in Rings of Akhaten ;)

I loved the song in ROA too :)


	12. The Bells of Saint John

A/N: I don't normally put notes at the start of the story unless it's the first chapter or a really important note :( Some of you following my OUAT story might know but for those only following DW, I wanted to just bring up something that had happened recently.

A Treasured Discovery, the first first story of my 3rd OC series, was plagiarized by a user on wattpad a few days ago :( I put a note on my tumblr about it and I'm relieved to say that the story was removed and the user's account appears to have been deleted as well. This is the 2nd time this year it's happened, the 12th time in general. But it's been resolved. I did add the user to my plagiarizers page on my tumblr though.

I was made aware that the user deleted any comments about the plagiarism (before the site stepped in, I think) and had originally commented that they hadn't plagiarized and that they didn't know who I was...yet I put the stories side by side and they were heavily and obviously paraphrased and had large parts that were just copy/pasted :(

Still, the issue has been resolved but I wanted to just keep you all up to date.

~8~

The Bells of Saint John

Mac stood beside the Doctor, the two of them staring at a sketch of Clara that the Doctor had made. It was her, the Victorian her, with her phrase beneath it, the one she'd uttered to the two of them shortly before dying both times. They'd come to Cumbria, to 1207, to a monastery, for a bit of peace and quiet and there was nothing more quite or peaceful than a monastery at that time. The monks had allowed them in easily, something about the Doctor having met them at one point in the past. They didn't even mind Mac being there with him, at least not after the Doctor introduced her as his wife. She wasn't, they were both a bit jaded from their prior marriages and, for the moment, being Chosens was enough for them. But the monks didn't know what a Chosen was so this was as close a substitute they could give for the time period.

They had been trying to find Clara for ages now and had little luck. It was hard when they didn't know who she was, where she was from, what time period, what species even. She could be a human or a humanoid alien, she could be from the future or past, they just…didn't know. So they'd taken what that little girl had said to heart and found a quiet place to have a good think about it. The TARDIS was sulking at how she hadn't been able to find the girl either so it was just them thinking about it.

"I'm sorry to intrude," they heard an abbott call from behind them and looked over, the two of them in monk's robes though only the Doctor had the hood up, "The bells of Saint John are ringing."

Mac smiled at that, the monks had taken to call the TARDIS 'Saint John' due to the sticker for the ambulance on the front. They hoped it meant the TARDIS was done with her sulk, but they'd have to go there to check. For all they knew it could be Martha trying to contact them or River or Kate and if the earth needed them, they should go. No more hiding out on a cloud.

The Doctor, ever one for dramatics, threw back his hood, "We're going to need a horse!" he determined before grabbing Mac's hand and rushing out of the room with her.

~8~

The duo rode through the woods on a horse, Mac behind the Doctor, with another monk following, the one who had brought news of the ringing in the first place. They quickly made their way to a small stone structure just ahead, a small opening like a doorway set down a small slope that was like stairs. They got off the horse and rushed for it, Mac lighting a torch with her lighter and moving ahead, the Doctor between her and the other monk as they reached a small cavernous room where the TARDIS was resting.

The Doctor frowned as they approached it to hear that the ringing wasn't coming from the inside, but behind the instruction panel, "That is not supposed to happen," he murmured, hurrying over to it and pulling it open. He pulled the small phone out from it and glanced at Mac before holding it up for them both to hear as he spoke into it, "Hello?"

"Ah, hello," a cheery voice greeted though it was tinged with exasperation and annoyance, "I can't find the internet."

Mac blinked, "Sorry, the internet?"

"Yes. It's gone, the internet. Can't find it anywhere. Where is it? Why don't I have the internet?"

The Doctor looked at Mac, "It's 1207, isn't it?"

She nodded but the woman on the line answered as well, clearly thinking he was speaking to her, "I've got half past 3:00. Am I phoning a different time zone?"

"Very different," Mac mused.

"Will it show up on the bill?"

"Probably," Mac nodded, not quite sure how that would look…she'd honestly never thought of that before.

"Listen," the Doctor cut in, "Where did you get this number?"

"Woman in the shop wrote it down," the girl answered, "It's the helpline, isn't it? She said it was the best helpline out there. In the universe, she said."

"What woman? Who was she?"

"I dunno, the woman in the shop, ginger hair, headband, cute little dress," the Doctor and Mac glanced at each other for that.

"Why would she give you THIS number?" Mac had to ask, that description was MUCH too much like her for it to be anyone else.

The girl sighed, "She just said to call the number for help. So why isn't there internet? Shouldn't it just sort of...be there?"

"Look, listen," the Doctor started to rub his head though Mac was more than a little confused about why she'd give some random girl the number to the TARDIS, "We're not actually...this isn't..."

'_Keep her talking,_' Mac whispered in his mind, '_I'm going to go trace the call and see where this is coming from._'

He sighed and nodded, watching as she headed back into the TARDIS before getting back to the phone. Mac made her way over to the console, swinging the monitor around as she went about tracing the call. It was relatively simple. As long as the phone line was open, which it was, the TARDIS would merely home in on the signal. It didn't take more than two shakes…so when she saw a simple house, for the Maitlands, in the modern era, there wasn't anything peculiar about it…

Till she nearly had a hearts attack when she heard the Doctor suddenly shout, "What did you say?!"

She ran to the doors and looked out, seeing his eyes wide with fear, "What is it?" he just shook his head and quickly hung up the phone, rushing into the box and shutting the doors behind him, "Theta what is it?"

"It's Clara," he told her, "That girl, she's Clara."

"What?"

"She said the thing!" he called, already running around the console, beaming when he saw she'd tracked the call, before he pulled a lever to send them off after it.

Mac ran to the console just in time, holding on as the box shuddered and took off towards the future, towards Clara, and, hopefully, towards answers for their questions.

~8~

The second the TARDIS set down, the Doctor and Mac were out of the box and running for the door to the house right in front of them, the Doctor whipping out his sonic, about to break and enter, when Mac snatched it out of his hands and whacked him on the shoulder with it lightly, "We do not break into the homes of young girls Doctor," she warned, slipping the sonic into his pocket again, "Not unless there's a danger here."

He winced, "Right, right, yes, sorry," he smiled at her, before turning to pound on the door repeatedly.

Mac shook her head at that, they ought not beat down the door either, but it seemed to be working as they could hear someone coming closer from inside, "Hello, yes, I hear you," they could make out the voice of the girl from the phone, Clara if the Doctor was right and he likely was as now that Mac thought about it, the voice on the phone and the voice of Clara and Oswin were quite similar, "Yep. Uh huh," and then the door opened and they were standing there, in their monk robes, staring right at Clara again, but the girl was looking at them blankly, dressed in a red, modern outfit, "Hello?"

"Are you…Clara?" Mac began cautiously, not sure if the Clara part was her actual name of if Oswin was, though, given the time period, Clara was more likely, "Clara Oswald?"

"Hello?"

The Doctor beamed, "Clara Oswin Oswald!"

But Clara shook her head, "Just Clara Oswald. What was that middle one?"

"Do you remember us?" the Doctor asked her, nearly bouncing with excitement.

"No," Clara eyed them, "Should I? Who are you?"

"The Doctor!" he cheered, taking a step inside, "And this is Kenzie," he gestured at Mac who gave a small wave, but Clara just gave them a blank look, "No? Mackenzie and the Doctor?"

"Hold on, you're the girl from the shop," Clara pointed at her, "You I know…you, though," she turned to the Doctor again, "The Doctor you said? Doctor who?"

"No, just the Doctor," he grinned, stepping back to put an arm around Mac's shoulders, "Actually, sorry, could you just ask me that again?"

"Could I what?"

"Could you just ask me that question again?"

"Oh here we go," Mac sighed, rubbing her forehead at this.

"Doctor who?" Clara guessed.

"Ok, just once more."

"Don't," Mac started, but Clara had already begun.

"Doctor who?"

"Oh, yeah," the Doctor did a little dance in place, his hip casually bumping Mac's as he moved, jostling her lightly, making her laugh as she was moved, "Oh! D'you know," he squeezed her to his side, "I never realized how much I enjoy hearing that said out loud," he smiled at Clara, "Thank you."

"Ok," Clara closed the door on them.

"Oi, Clara!" Mac tried to knock on the door, "Please, we just want to talk to you a moment. We can do it through the door if you'd like…"

A moment later there was a faint buzzing and Clara's face appeared on a small monitor in the wall for the security system, "Why are you still here? Why are you here at all?"

"You phoned us," the Doctor reminded her, "Kenzie gave you MY number."

"Yes, you were looking for the internet, right?" Mac nodded.

Clara frowned, "That really was you?"

"Course it was me," the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"How did you get here so fast?"

"We just happened to be in the neighborhood," he gestured back to the TARDIS sitting behind them, "On my mobile phone."

"When you say 'mobile phone,' why do you point at that blue box?"

"Because it's a surprisingly accurate description!"

"Wrong thing to say dear," Mac sighed, knowing that the remark likely made him seem like a mad man of sorts.

"Ok," Clara seemed to agree, "We're finished now," before she switched off the monitor.

"Oi, no, look..." the Doctor tried to speak.

"You realize we both look completely mad standing here in robes from the 1200s, yes?" Mac offered.

"That must be it," the Doctor agree, thinking that was what was bothering Clara and making her shifty around them, so he grabbed her hand and tugged her towards the TARDIS, "Come on!"

~8~

Mac stood outside the TARDIS, her arms crossed, leaning on the corner of it with one foot up against it, dressed in her usual attire, though he headband was just a little thicker than normal and her cardigan a little shorter, but overall, her outfit was the same.

"We're going to be late!" she called, knocking on the door. The Doctor had shooed her out when he'd gathered an outfit to wear, for some reason he wanted to get dressed right there under the console instead of in their room or in the bathroom, so she'd gone to stand outside. Luckily she was wearing her normal clothes under her monk's robe.

"Ta da!" the Doctor grinned as he ran out of the TARDIS, spinning around to show off his new outfit, "What do you think? Handsome bloke or total joke?"

Mac eyed it a moment, he was wearing a button up shirt with a lavender gray vest, a dark purple coat over it, simple trousers and his boots, no braces in sight, but with his classic bowtie to complete the outfit, "Handsome bloke," she took his hands, "Which makes me reconsider letting you out of the TARDIS like that instead of your monk's robe."

"Why?" he frowned.

"Don't want any anomalous Claras stealing you away," she joked.

He laughed and wound his arm around her shoulders, "NO chance of that happening, Macintoshes are still my favorite RED apples," he kissed her hair.

Mac smiled and moved over to the door of the Maitland house and knocked on it, "Clara? Are you in there?"

The Doctor frowned when there was no reply and moved to the intercom, "Clara?"

"Hello?" Clara responded.

"See?" he grinned, "Look, it's us! De-monked. Sensible clothes, rather cool bowtie and headband," he snapped Mac's making her roll her eyes and go to fix it, "Erm, can we come in now?"

"I don't understand."

"Don't understand what?" Mac glanced at it.

"I don't know..."

Mac looked at the intercom closely but saw nothing, no Clara speaking at all and turned to go to the door, trying it before hunching over and pulling out a paperclip from her pocket.

"You…don't know how to open the door?" the Doctor tried to guess, confused.

"…where I am," Clara finished, "I don't know where I am. Where am I? Please tell me, where I am! I don't know where I am!"

The Doctor turned, pulling out the sonic to try and break in, only to hear the lock click as Mac picked it, throwing the door open and allowing the two of them to rush inside where Clara was lying unconscious at the base of the stairs…but her voice was still speaking.

"I don't know where I am!"

"Clara!" Mac quickly knelt by the woman, frantically checking her over as the Doctor tried to scan her with the sonic, "Clara, wake up sweetie…"

"I don't know where I am!" the Time Lords frowned when they realized that Clara's voice wasn't coming out of Clara's body, she wasn't moving at all, and turned to see that there was a little girl standing on the stairs, or what would have been a little girl had it not been for the fact that her head was on backwards and there was a large groove in the back of it like a dish of some sort that had an image of Clara in it.

The Doctor looked at Mac and she nodded, "I've got Clara," she assured him and so he stood, facing down the…whatever it was that was standing on the steps.

He aimed his sonic at the little girl and the image flickered into a robotic frame, the most basic of shapes, like a stick figure of metal. He frowned, lowering the sonic to eye it.

"Is that a…base station?" Mac shook her head at it as well.

He nodded, "A walking Wi-Fi base station, hoovering up data. Hoovering up people!" his eyes widened as he realized how it had gotten Clara, the wi-fi! Her computer! He quickly pushed past the robot and up the stairs, Mac turning her attention back to Clara, leaning over to listen and feel for her breathing. She wasn't, breathing that is, nor could she feel a pulse on her. She bit her lip at that, she doubted Clara was the first and that meant…who knew how many humans probably trapped, their minds stolen but their bodies left behind, alive but their bodies thought of as dead. How many were in comas in the hospitals? How many had been buried, or worse cremated as the families thought them dead? She didn't want to know.

She looked up as the Doctor ran back down, dropping to his knees before the robot, a laptop balanced on his lap as he started typing quickly, muttering to himself as he tried to hack into whatever had taken Clara. She turned back to Clara, watching her intently, listening to his mutters of 'no' and 'not this time' and his promises to Clara to stop this and save her. She nearly jumped back when, moments later, a light shot out of the dish and onto Clara's face, the girl letting out a deep gasp as she came back to herself, her mind restored even if her body didn't wake instantly.

"You're ok, Clara," Mac took her hand, squeezing it tightly with one hand as she brushed the hair out of the girl's face with her other, "You're ok," she looked back at the Doctor, "You did it," she smiled at him, tears in her eyes of relief.

"Not quite yet," he grinned devilishly, typing something onto the laptop, "Ok…NOW I've done it," he turned the laptop around to show her the message he'd sent back to the ones controlling the robot.

'Under our protection – The Doctor and Kenzie.'

~8~

The Doctor leaned against the TARDIS, watching Mac with a smile on his face. It was night now, the TARDIS still parked outside the Maitland House, Clara asleep within. Mac had gone into true 'mother hen mode' the moment the base station had returned Clara's mind. She'd ordered him to carry Clara to her room, then proceeded to get the girl in bed and comfortable, with flowers and water and a snack to wake up to, cleaning up the room of clutter and opening the window a crack as it was stuffy, before sweeping the floor and about to debate if she should try and get the girl in her pajamas when he led her outside. He wasn't sure if that had been the best thing to do as she'd set right on the base station, tearing it apart, piece by piece, to study every facet of it and was currently in the process of rebuilding it back but with its mind wiped to use as a decoy, much like with the Cybermat.

It had been quite amusing to hear her grumbling, as he had been, to the robot as she went to town on it, breaking it down and huffing while she did it. He had to chuckle though, she was adorable when she was fretting about people. He had just moved to sit beside her, on another chair he'd brought out and taken Clara's laptop in his hand when they heard a creak and saw the window of Clara's room open, the girl in question peeking out at them in confusion, "Hello?"

He quickly set the laptop aside and stood, "Hello. Are you all right?"

"I'm in bed," she stated.

"You are," Mac nodded, "Did you get a decent rest?"

"Yeah, I did," Clara mused before frowning, "Don't remember going though."

"I don't suspect you would."

"What did I miss?"

"Oh, quite a lot, actually," the Doctor pulled out a small notebook from his jacket pocket, flicking through the pages to give her her messages, "Angie called, she's going to stay over at Nina's. Apparently that's all completely fine and you shouldn't worry like you always do, for God's sake, get off her back."

"Don't," Mac cut in, "She's a little girl, she needs someone on her back to keep her straight."

"Yes," the Doctor pointed at her before spinning to Clara once more, "Also, your dad phoned. Mainly about the government. He seems very cross with them, I've got several pages on that…" he flipped through several more, "I said we'd look into it. I fixed that rattling noise in the washing machine, while Kenzie indexed the kitchen cupboards and then replanted and deweeded the garden, and I assembled the quadrocycle."

Clara blinked at that last one, "Assembled the what?"

"I found a disassembled quadrocycle in the garage."

"I don't think you did."

"I told him he didn't," Mac agreed.

The Doctor just started grinning though, "I invented the quadrocycle!"

Clara let out a little laugh at that before she started frowning again, "What happened to me?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Mac countered instead.

"I was scared," Clara said thoughtfully, "Really scared. I didn't know where I was."

"Do you know now?" the Doctor smiled.

Clara nodded, "Yes."

"Good," Mac breathed a sigh of relief and smiled up at her too, "Then you get right to sleep missy, you need your rest."

Clara raised an amused eyebrow at that as the Doctor chuckled, "Yes, don't worry about a thing. You're safe now, we promise. Goodnight, Clara."

"Goodnight," Mac waved.

But Clara just watched, "Are you guarding me?"

"I'd think that's a bit obvious," Mac laughed.

Clara smiled at that, oddly touched, "Are you seriously going to sit down there all night?"

"Yes," the Doctor agreed, "We promise. We won't budge from this spot," he sat back down beside Mac and pulled the laptop back onto his lap.

"Well, then," Clara decided, "I'll have to come to you."

And with that, she closed her window and disappeared from sight.

~8~

"Thank you for the tea Clara," Mac smiled as she took a sip of the tea Clara had provided her and the Doctor, the girl sitting across from them on a chair she'd brought out, sipping her own tea as well, "But you really should be resting."

"We like your house," the Doctor added as Clara waved Mac off.

"It isn't mine," Clara shook her head, "I'm a friend of the family."

"And you look after the children?" Mac guessed, "They're adorable, we saw some pictures lying about," she offered as an explanation and Clara nodded.

"Oh yes, you're a governess, aren't you?" the Doctor realized, "Just like..."

"Stop using your mouth dear," Mac cut in, "And start using your brain," she gave him a pointed look NOT to talk about the other Claras they'd run into.

But Clara caught that, "Just like what?"

"Just like...we thought you probably would be," the Doctor tried to save.

Clara didn't seem like she fully believed him, but she let it slide, "Are you going to explain what happened to me?"

The Doctor sighed and drank the last of his tea, setting it aside to pick up her laptop, "There's something in the Wi-Fi," he began, "Ok this whole world is swimming in Wi-Fi. We're living in a Wi-Fi soup! Suppose something got inside it. Suppose there was something living in the Wi-Fi, harvesting human minds, extracting them. Imagine that. Human souls trapped like flies in the World Wide Web, stuck for ever, crying out for help."

"Isn't that basically Twitter?" Clara smirked.

"You know Twitter?" Mac gave her an odd look.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?"

"Because only a few hours ago you were calling the Doctor up trying to find the internet?" she suggested, "And now you know about Twitter?"

"Oh," Clara gasped, "Oh. That's weird. I know all about computers now in my head. Where did that come from?"

"A computer can hack another computer," the Doctor mused, "A living, sentient computer...maybe that could that hack people. Edit them. Rewrite them," he glanced at Clara, "You were uploaded for a while. Wherever you were, you brought something extra back."

Mac glanced down at the base station she'd torn apart to see a small red light blinking, "You weren't meant to come back," Mac started to stand and look around warily, "Not with anything…that was stealing, and when something's stolen, someone wants it back."

The Doctor pulled out the sonic and flashed it around, realizing what Mac was saying and turned, the two of them looking at someone standing under a street lamp across the street, unmoving, its head turning to reveal it to be one of the base stations.

"Clara, get inside that box, now!" the Doctor ordered.

Clara nearly choked on her sip of tea at the order, "I'm sorry?"

"Clara, please, just go inside the TARDIS," Mac pulled off her necklace and tossed the key to Clara behind her.

"What all of us in there?" Clara stared between the key and the box.

"Trust us, you'll understand once we're in there," the Doctor called, keeping the robot in sight.

"I bet I will," she muttered, heading over to the box to unlock it, "What is this box, anyway? Why do you have a box? Is it like a snogging booth?"

"A what?!" the Doctor spun around to face her to see she'd opened the door only a crack, unlocking it.

"Is that what you do?" she leaned against the corner to smirk at him, "You bring a booth? There's such a thing as too keen."

"As lovely as this banter is," Mac cut in, "Priorities…" she pointed at the lights of the houses around them, now all turning on.

"What's going on?" Clara stepped over to them, forgetting the door, "Is the Wi-Fi switching on the lights?"

"No," the Doctor swallowed hard, stepping closer to Mac, taking her hand, "The people are switching on the lights. The Wi-Fi is switching on the people."

Clara frowned and squinted across the street to what Mac was staring at and nearly gasped at the sight of the robot, "What is that thing?"

"A walking base station, you saw one earlier."

"I saw a little girl."

"From the cover of Summer Falls?" Mac guessed, thinking about the books Amy Pond had written throughout her life, based on her adventures, all of which were in the TARDIS library now, they'd read through each one, "You probably saw the cover earlier and the robot just took the image to get closer to you."

"Active camouflage!" the Doctor realized, smacking himself in the forehead, "That means they could be everywhere!"

Clara spun around at that, it was always in horror movies that the danger was right behind you and, while she didn't see another robot, she DID see something just as strange, "Doctor! Mackenzie? What's going on?" they turned to see that all the lights beyond the street they were standing on were going out, sending the area into darkness save their street, "All our lights on, everyone else's off. Why?"

"You know how neon signs attract attention in the dark?" Mac murmured.

"Yeah?"

"Some planes have Wi-Fi," the Doctor breathed.

"What's that got to do with neon?" Clara blinked, not following.

"The lights…" Mac glanced around, "Are a neon target, and that plane…" she pointed up to a blinking light they could see in the sky, heading right for them, "Is what's targeting us!"

"Box, now!" the Doctor grabbed Clara's hand and pulled her into the TARDIS after him and Mac, the two Time Lords rushing to the console as Clara gasped, grabbing onto the rail to steady herself, not sure what was going on…though her eyes widened greatly when she saw the larger room within, the alien room she was now standing in, "Yes, it's a spaceship. Yes, it's bigger on the inside. No, we don't have time to talk about it."

"We'll tell you all about it later," Mac promised, "Just…priorities right now…"

"But... but... but... it's..." Clara stuttered, slowly pulling herself up, grabbing the railing tighter as the room started to shake a bit. Mac smiled and patted her on the shoulder as she ran past to a side panel, "Bigger. On the inside. Actually bigger."

The Doctor threw a lever, causing the console to spark before he jumped back with a grin and grabbed Mac's hand, pulling her for the doors, "Right, come on Clara!"

"Are we going back out there?" Clara gasped, thinking of the plane diving for them.

"It's ok," Mac reassured her, "We moved the TARDIS. Remember, spaceship? We flew off."

"Away from the plane?" Clara started to smile.

But the Doctor just threw the doors open with a shout of, "Not exactly!" to reveal they had indeed flown off…right into the middle of the plane itself, the turbulence sending them all toppling out of it and struggling to get down the aisle.

"How did we get here?!" Clara shouted above the nose of the plane falling out of the sky.

Mac checked on one of the passengers, all of whom seemed to be unconscious and unmoving in their seats, "They're all alive," Mac called to the Doctor, "The Wi-Fi's shut them down!"

"Right, this way!" the Doctor tried to fight the turbulence off, heading down the aisle towards the cockpit.

"We're on the actual plane?!" Clara shook her head, completely shocked.

"Yes," Mac nodded, not about to lie.

"Here!" the Doctor called, using the sonic to get the cockpit door open, the three of them nearly landing on the controls between the two sleeping pilots. The Doctor frantically started to scan the controls as Mac leaned in and started manually flicking the controls up, UNIT was good with training for how to operate certain crafts. She had spent a few times in a plane and, given the Doctor's luck with adventure, they'd thought it was prudent to teach her how to handle a basic flight for a plane should the luck around her ever run as badly as his did.

"What is going on?" Clara gasped, "Is this real? Please tell me what is happening!"

"I'm the Doctor and this is Kenzie," the Doctor shouted quickly, "We're aliens from outer space. We're over 1,000 years old and have got two hearts. And I can't fly a plane, can you?"

"No!"

"Just…pull the steering back!" Mac called, the Doctor in front of her with her unable to reach it properly, "Just pull it back!"

The Doctor reached out and grabbed the controls, yanking back as much as he could, Clara screaming behind him as the plan just narrowly pulled out of its dive and missed the tops of the houses by mere feet, heading back up into the sky. He let out a breath of relief and turned to kiss Mac's cheek, "Do you think a victory roll would be too show-off-y?"

"Yes," she said instantly, "Just…block the wi-fi for now."

"Right," he nodded, pulling out the sonic and doing just that, the pilots starting to wake up as a result.

"What the hell's going on?!" one of the men demanded.

Mac laughed and turned to lead Clara out of the room and back towards the TARDIS, they should probably get out of there before the rest of the passengers woke up and saw the box disappear.

~8~

"Ok," Clara took a breath as she finished her tea, back in the TARDIS, now more calmly flying, "When are you going to explain what the hell is going on?"

"Hmm…" the Doctor hummed as he considered the answer, before spinning around and looking at Mac, "Breakfast?" he offered.

"Sounds lovely," Mac laughed, leaning over to kiss his cheek as he passed, pulling a lever to set the TARDIS down, making sure it was breakfast time and on earth first, no need to freak Clara out more than necessary.

"What?" Clara shook her head, following them around the console and over to the doors, "I ain't waiting till breakfast."

"No need to."

"It's a time machine," the Doctor reminded her with a grin, "You never have to wait for breakfast," he spun around once more and threw the doors open to sunlight streaming in, "Thank you!" he called as the sound of clapping began to sound, the Doctor taking Mac's hand and stepping out with her, Clara following slightly to see that they were at the south bank of the Thames with a crowd of people around them, clearly thinking that the TARDIS randomly appearing was a trick, "Thank you. Yes, magic blue box," the Doctor pulled a fez from his jacket and held it out to collect some change, "All donations gratefully accepted," he handed it to Mac with a wink, "Roll up, roll up, give us your dosh. Pennies, pounds, anything you've got," and kissed her cheek, "Keep collecting Kenzie dear, we need enough for breakfast."

"No," she rolled her eyes, sarcastic, "I thought we were saving up for retirement."

He laughed at that and gave her a peck on the lips before he turned to head back to the TARDIS, "Just popping back to the garage!" he called to the others.

Clara looked between them before jogging over to Mac, "Garage?" she whispered.

"Don't let the TARDIS hear that he called her that," Mac warned just as quietly, "She's rather tetchy about being called anything but old girl or the TARDIS."

Clara blinked, "Your box gets tetchy?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," Mac smiled, holding out the fez more and smiling at the children around them.

"So, this is tomorrow, then?" Clara continued, blinking a bit at the sunlight, "Tomorrow's come early."

"Not really, we just took a shortcut."

They glanced back when they heard the crowd starting to cheer again, to see the Doctor pulling out of the TARDIS on a motorbike, parking it before jogging in to walk another one out, three helmets dangling from his arm, "Thank you, thank you," he laughed as the people started taking pictures as he closed the doors, "Tomorrow, a camel!"

"Not on your life," Mac shook her head at him, handing him the fez to empty the money into his pocket, "Come on Clara," she tugged on the girl's arm, taking two helmets, "Ride with me?"

"Oi," the Doctor pouted, "What if I wanted her to ride with me?"

"Did you?" Mac gave him a knowing look.

"No. I wanted YOU to ride with me."

Mac turned to Clara, "Do you know how to ride a motorbike?"

"No," Clara stated quickly.

"See?" she turned back to the Doctor, "You don't want her to ride with you so she rides with me," she grinned smugly and patted Clara's arm, "Don't worry, we'll teach you how to ride one if you'd like."

"That'd be good, thanks," Clara laughed, putting her helmet on and getting onto the bike behind Mac as the Doctor sighed and put his own helmet on, the three of them taking off moments later as people took pictures around them.

~8~

It was quite a short ride to a quaint little rooftop café, it was one Mac had visited once or twice with Martha on some assignments. They'd had to take the motorbikes as the TARDIS would just make it a target for whoever was trying to come after them and the more distance they could put in between them and the box till they sorted this out, the better. And besides, they were done running, they were going to find out what was going on and stop it once and for all. The Time Lords had both gotten cup of tea, the Doctor with a scone and Mac with a small muffin, Clara had gotten an energy shake and a bowl of fruit at Mac's insistence that she eat and eat healthy, which had seemed to amuse her.

Mac glanced back from where she was standing at the bar in the café getting another muffin and a small bit of jammie dodgers for the Doctor to see him and Clara at the table talking about something, probably time travel, that seemed to be the main topic people loved to discuss after a trip in the TARDIS. She nearly laughed though when she saw them starting to engage in a sort of tug of war with the laptop the Doctor had been pouring over. She rolled her eyes at the Doctor pouting and made her way over to sort it out.

"...never about the security," Clara was saying, Mac nodding as she realized what their discussion had been about, hacking the security, apparently the Doctor was having a difficult time of it, "It's about the people."

"People give away quite a bit about themselves without realizing it," Mac agreed, "Find at least one person in that system and you can track them online, find out where they work, where they are right now."

"Exactly!" Clara snapped her fingers and pointed at her, "Now you," she gave the Doctor a pointed look and made a shooing motion, "Coffee. Go get."

Mac laughed and moved to pull her chair over to beside Clara, "I can help," she offered, "I've got a lot of experience hacking into things."

The Doctor sighed but smiled, seeing Mac getting along with Clara, both knew that he was intending to ask the girl to be his next companion and he was always so glad when she got along with the potentials. Made the trips much less awkward. He paused in getting up, considering what it would have been like if Mac had been with him while Rose was there, specifically after Rose seemed to have developed a crush of sorts on him. He grimaced, VERY awkward indeed. He leaned over to drop a kiss onto Mac's head, snagging one of the Jammie Dodgers she'd gotten and turned to head into the café, leaving the girls to their hacking and girl talk.

"He's weird," Clara mumbled as she got to typing, her fingers flying across the keyboard.

"He's a sweetheart though," Mac smiled, seeing the Doctor wave at her before he turned to the counter and got distracted by a cake.

Clara nodded, he did seem sweet, before her focus was fully committed to the hacking she was doing, Mac beside her, offering her a tidbit of help here and there, a suggestion or two that had her grinning, her hacking starting to make a dent.

"You ok!?" the Doctor nearly skid to a halt, running out to them a few minutes later, making Mac blink and frown at that, he looked worried, more worried than he should be.

"Sure," Clara waved him off, not bothering to look away from the screen, "Setting up stuff, need a user name."

"Learning fast," he breathed, his hand moving to his hearts as they slowed, which made Mac get up and head over to him.

"Clara Oswald for the win! Oswin!" she grinned, glancing at them and then back to the monitor as they frowned at her, recalling Oswin in the Alaska.

"What is it?" Mac asked quietly.

"Nothing," he swallowed hard, "Nothing just…" he glanced at Clara again, "Stay here, with her, please?"

She nodded and went back to Clara though she kept her gaze on the people around her, on the Doctor as he returned to the interior of the café. Her frown was permanent as she saw him speaking to random people, small bursts of light coming over them before and after they spoke to him. She could guess what it was, there was wi-fi in the building, which had to give their enemy access to everything. She stayed out there as long as she could, as the Doctor had asked, but when she saw everyone else on the patio they'd been sitting on, along with everyone but the Doctor inside, get up and leave the café, she knew something was wrong. Clara should be safe with no one else out there, but the Doctor was being confronted by the enemy.

"Be right back," she murmured to Clara, the girl too focused on what she was doing to notice the empty area around them, merely waving her off as she hurried into the café, to the Doctor's side where he was standing before a television, speaking to the newsreader.

"…don't know who you are or why you're doing this but the people of this world will not be harmed," he was warning the woman as she came up beside him, linking her arm with his, "They will not be controlled, they will not be..."

"The people of this world are in no danger whatsoever," the newsreader responded, making Mac frown at that, "My client requires a steady diet of living human minds. Healthy, free range human minds. He loves and cares for humanity. In fact, he can't get enough of it."

"How can you claim that he loves and cares for humanity when he's murdering it!" Mac scoffed.

The newsreader merely shrugged, "The farmer tends his flock like a loving parent. The abattoir is not a contradiction. No one loves cattle more than Burger King…"

"This ends," the Doctor glared, "We are going to the end this today!"

"How? You don't even know where we are."

"Maybe not right now, but we will," Mac's own eyes narrowed at the screen.

"Who's doing this?" the Doctor demanded, "Who is your client? Hmm? Answer me!"

But the newsreader just smirked and the monitor flashed off, "Come on," Mac took his hand, "Clara had nearly cracked it," she tugged him off, towards the patio, though they both took off running for it when they saw the Doctor standing there, his back to them, his FACE towards them, and realized one of the base stations had been in the building, "Clara!" Mac gasped, rushing past the robot and over to Clara's side, kneeling beside the girl who was slumped over on the laptop, unconscious.

The Doctor spun around to the base station and pulled out his sonic, they were NOT going to get Clara, not now, not ever.

~8~

A figure raced across London, on the motorbike, not daring to stop for anything on their quest to the Shard, the last place that Clara had on the laptop before she was taken. She had done it, she had found out where the enemy was, and now it was time to put an end to all this and to get the girl back to her body. Mac smirked as she made it into 65th floor of the building, riding the motorbike right up the side of the building and through the window of the office in charge of the entire operation, it was quite a good thing that there was a Doctor watching out for Clara while she dealt with this. SHE had to do this, she felt like it was her fault, SHE had been the one to leave Clara alone, she hadn't been there when the base station had attacked and she was determined to be the one to see her restored. So she dropped the bike to the side and moved over to the desk in the middle of the room, sitting on the edge of it and pushing herself up on it, crossing her leg over the other to wait patiently, pulling the goggles over her eyes onto the top of her helmet she was still wearing as she waited. She reached over and picked up the phone making a quick call when, not even a minute later the door was opening and an older woman with short hair in a suit walked in.

"Do come in and help yourself," the woman sneered.

Mac merely held up a finger, finishing what she was saying with a polite 'Thank you' before she hung up, "Download Clara back into her body."

"I can't," the woman crossed her arms.

"I find that hard to believe," Mac mirrored her.

"She's a fully integrated part of the data cloud now. She can't be separated."

"So download the entire cloud then."

"You realize what would happen?"

"I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't," Mac narrowed her eyes at her.

"Most will die," the woman warned.

"You already killed them," she shook her head, "But those with bodies to go back to will live. And they would all be free. Now," she got off the desk and stepped up to the woman, "Tell them to download the cloud."

"Why would I do that?"

"Besides the fact that I have ties to UNIT, and they'll be swarming your building in mere minutes…" Mac shrugged, even if she were listed as dead, she knew the protocol and the right key words to use in an anonymous tip to the organization that would get them running, "They COULD return the entire cloud, but I'm in a bit of a rush and I'd rather YOU do it."

"Well then, you'll be in for a disappointment."

"And you'll be in for quite a fright, I'm afraid," Mac smirked.

"You think I fear you?" she scoffed.

"I think you fear sharing the fate of those you've taken," Mac countered, "How about we test that theory?"

"And how do you plan to do that?" the woman rolled her eyes.

"Hmm…" Mac hummed, removing her helmet, "I suppose like this," she stiffened suddenly, her head rising slightly before it began to turn around in place, all the way around, revealing a groove in the back of her dish-head.

"What?!" the woman backed up, stumbling back into her desk as the robot focused on her, "No!" she gasped, "No. No! Not me! Not me!"

But it was too late, a beam shot out of the robot's head and struck the woman dead on, uploading her just as they had Clara…

~8~

"Remind me never to cross you dear," the Doctor smiled as he watched Mac give herself a little clap for trapping the woman that had ordered the attack on Clara. He was crouched beside Clara, keeping an eye on her while Mac controlled the base station he'd refigured to look like her and sent it to the Shard. He could hear the conversation going on between Mac and their enemy.

"I think you learned that a long time ago," she mused, "However unjustified my being cross was," she offered him an apologetic smile.

He shrugged and gave her a wink, watching as she typed in another command, "And?"

"I'm setting one of her employees to release the datacloud," she nodded, "Just one more mo…" she beamed, "There!" she cheered just as Clara took a deep breath, her mind restored to her body once again.

"You are brilliant," he stood, moving over to help her up, kissing her quickly.

"You saved her once, my turn," she remarked, glancing at Clara a moment, "We should go make sure that UNIT does their job properly though," she sighed, "On invisible, just to make sure that people like Clara aren't the only ones released."

He nodded, looking at Clara and leaving her the last of their change for a ride back to the Maitlands, they had to be quick and…they didn't want Clara to be put in more danger by being in that place where all this had happened either. So they turned and quickly made their way out of the café, rushing to the motorbike to get back to the TARDIS.

~8~

The Time Lords looked up from where they were sitting on the stairs of the TARDIS when the doors opened and Clara entered after knocking. They'd set down just outside the Maitland home, wanting to check in and make sure Clara got back alright. UNIT had done a flawless job and, it seemed only moments before they arrived there invisibly, the staff as well had been released from the control that whatever entity had been after the minds of humans had on them.

"So," Clara smiled, walking up to the console, to lean on it and eye them, Mac with a book in her hand, open, the Doctor with reading glasses on, "They comes back, do they?"

The Doctor just eyed her a moment, "Why do you stay here?" he asked thoughtfully, "You don't seem like a nanny."

Clara sighed, "I was going to travel. I came to stay for a week before I left and during that week..."

"Mrs. Maitland died," Mac guessed, "So you're watching her children cos she can't. I respect that very much Clara," she smiled, thinking of Amy and Rory and how they'd practically raised River.

"Kenzie saw a book in your room," the Doctor remarked, "'101 Places to See,' and you haven't been to any of them, have you? That's why you keep the book."

"I keep the book cos I'm still going," she smiled.

"But you don't run out on the people you care about," he took off the glasses, "Wish I was more like that," he looked at Mac sadly.

"You're getting there," she wound her arm through the Doctor's and smiled at him, resting her chin on his shoulder, "You always come back, eventually."

He let out a soft laugh and pressed a kiss to her forehead, Clara smiling lightly as she watched them. He turned and looked at Clara, "You know, the thing about a time machine, you can run away all you like and still be home in time for tea, so what do you say? Anywhere. All of time and space, right outside those doors."

"Does this work?" Clara chuckled at that, "Eh? Is this actually what you do? Do you just crook your finger and people just jump in your snog box and fly away?"

"It is not a snog box!"

"Look, whatever you and Mackenzie do in your spare time…" Clara teased.

"Oi!" he pouted.

Clara just laughed and shook her head, "Come back tomorrow, ask me again."

"Will the answer change?" Mac smiled at her.

"Possibly," Clara shrugged playfully, "Some time after 7 ok for you?" she called as she turned and headed to the doors.

"It's a time machine, any time's ok," the Doctor told her.

"See you then!" Clara smiled, opening the door.

"Clara," Mac called, making her stop, "In that book…I saw a leaf in there…"

Clara smiled at the unasked question, "That wasn't a leaf, that was page one," she told them, before stepping out of the doors.

Mac and the Doctor smiled, the Doctor clapping and getting up, "Right then," he turned and held out a hand to Mac, helping her up, "Time to find out who Clara Oswald is, don't you think?"

Mac grinned and stood, heading past him to the console, the two of them getting to work setting course for Clara's past, they had a lot to learn and…well, quite a bit of time to find out.

A/N: To start, I'm sorry there was no chapter yesterday and that this one is so late :( My computer had a virus that deleted ALL my DW stories from my flashdrive, like everything, ALL of Proffy/Evy/Angel/Mac/TL7's chapters are gone and I spent the last few days frantically trying to get everything written again. I had planned to post yesterday but we had a bad thunderstorm early yesterday morning (like midnight early) and the transformer outside my house got struck with lightning :( I semi laugh-cried at that, it survived Hurricane Sandy but got hit in a T-storm -sigh- The power was out all day and even into today as well. Worse yet, my sister was down the shore with a friend for Memorial Day Weekend with her laptop, I had no access to a car till about 6pm (the library near my house closes as 3 on Saturdays), so I was practically trapped in my house all day with our two dogs without even my phone working from a depleted battery :( I was hopeful the power would be on this morning but it was still off and my town does our Memorial Day parade today (my brother marches with the Fire Department so we always go) and then have to go to a barbeque afterwards at the Firehouse. Of course, when I get home, at some point between leaving for the parade and getting back the power came back on -sigh- BUT! It meant I could post! :) So I practically flew to my bedroom to get the computer started (now that it's all fixed up from the last virus).

But I will make it up to you guys :) It's Memorial Day Weekend for me, and tomorrow's Memorial Day so I'll post 2 chapters tomorrow for you of both this and OUAT ;)

On a happier note...WOO! 8,000,000 words archived as of posting this chapter! ^-^ I'm hoping for 10 mil by the end of this year :) If I hit it by October that'll be 10 mil in 2.5 years :) Which is almost 11,000 words a day ^-^

Some notes on reviews...

We'll have to wait and see what Clara might be biologically, but I can say we'll find out who she'll be to the Doctor and Mac in the next chapter ;)

I don't think I'll be completely bashing anyone in the BBT story, Amy might pose a bit of a threat to the OC and Sheldon, but I'll be looking at her from a very pointed viewpoint, not clingy or possessive but something in between. I know from experience when you are not very popular in school and are the nerdy girl, when you finally get friends or a boyfriend (though I can't quite say from experience for the boy friend part lol) you're very keen to hold onto them. To Amy, Penny is still her besty...even though my OC knew Penny first, Sheldon should be with Amy because they're similar despite the OC being his best friend and interest growing up. It'll look at areas of her personality and how her past as the lonely/nerdy girl affects how she views people and 'threats' around her. She won't be OOC, all her actions will be logical and make sense to her ;) I think I just pair the OC with whatever Character strikes me as best suited for them, eccentric or regular :)

I'm not sure I'd be writing a story where Rose/Martha/River/Amy were mean or jealous of the TL and them biting back. I say that only because so far I have no plans to do a TL from the Rose/Martha era again (except AUs). And I sort of feel like a TL that appears with the Doctor when someone first meets them, the companion would sort of see them as a pair and see them both as these impressive people and either respect them or not be quite so vocal about disliking them. I definitely took River's psychopathic roots deeper with Angel lol. But I can say my future TLs will have very strong back bones so if anyone dislikes them they'll be biting back ;)

It was a spelling error 'we should try it one day' :)

I'm not a big fan of Spike/Rarity so I probably won't do a story like that :)

Lol, I've never seen Reba before but that's awesome they have a tea triangle :) That's been in my family for generations lol, we have the teacups in the upper cabinet, the teabags to the left, and the stove/teapot to the right :) I can say that we'll learn who Clara is to the Time Lords tomorrow as for TL7...I can say she's the Doctor's wife and they have a bit of a complex history. But that I also have 2 sneak peeks of her up on my tumblr's 'Upcoming Stories' page for Series 7 (when she's introduced) :)

This story was updated as soon as I got internet and will be updated at the regular times ;)

I won't be doing original chapters for this story, unlike with Angel, so if we don't see the Valeyard in the show we won't see it here :) As for the movies, I wasn't a fan of the DW movie, though I do love the 8th Doctor. I plan to do some AUs that start on Gallifrey and might include the movie, and possibly doing a large story starting with the 1st Doctor (but not till I see the entire classic Who first) so we probably won't have one that starts on the movie :)


	13. The Rings of Akhaten

The Rings of Akhaten

The Doctor was watching Mac, rather amused, as she paced before in across the console floor, him sitting on the steps to watch her. They'd seen…many areas of Clara's life so far. They'd seen her parents get together when her mother saved her father from getting hit by a car. They'd seen her parents first kiss, met little Clara in the part as a little girl playing kickball…and kicking the ball right to the Doctor's head. They'd even seen a teenage Clara at her mother's grave. They'd seen so much more, her driving exam, her graduation from all important points of school, her first flat…and that was the problem. She as ordinary, perfectly normal, and they didn't know how, she shouldn't be possible to exist as they knew there were so many other versions of her out there, or there likely were, they'd only met two so far. They got the feeling that this Clara…this one was the original or the first or something unconnected to the others. So they knew they had to keep her close, see what it was that might happen to her that made the other Claras and hope that they could save her and protect her.

"You're going to wear a hole in the floor dear," the Doctor called, getting up to go stop her pacing.

She looked up, "Sorry," she smiled sheepishly, having not realized she was doing that, "Just…thinking."

"About Clara?"

She nodded, "I just…I want to know what happens to her, what…makes the other hers. I can't help but think that it'll hurt her and…"

He gently pulled her into his arms, "We'll find out, we'll work it out, we always do. And we'll keep her safe."

"Just…one," Mac whispered, "I know you've had so many that were fine," she looked up at him, "So many that survived and went on to live remarkable lives but…I feel like ever since I joined you, all your companions just get lost. Donna, Amy and Rory…I just want one to be ok…"

He nodded, understanding that as well, he lived for the adventures where everybody lived, "Then we'll make doubly sure she's ok."

Mac smiled and closed her eyes as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

A moment later they heard Clara's peppy voice as the doors opened, "Hello!"

"Hello," the Doctor greeted, rushing to the console to pull a lever, sending them off, nearly making Mac and Clara stumble into the railings in the process.

Clara just laughed, seeming exuberant to just be there, "So we're moving through actual time?" she moved over to them as the two Time Lords got to piloting, "So what's it made of? Time? If you can just rotor through it, it must be made of stuff, like jam's made of strawberries. So what's it made of?"

"Definitely not strawberries," Mac laughed, "It's more…abstract than that in a way."

"Right," Clara nodded, as though she understood it, "And we can go anywhere?"

"Within reason," the Doctor nodded, smirking as he thought about what he'd said, "Well, I say reason…"

"So just about anywhere," Mac gave him a playful look.

"So, we could go backwards in time?" Clara began.

"And space," the Doctor nodded, "Yes."

"And forwards in time."

"And space. Totally. So, where do you want to go, eh?" he turned to lean on the console, "What do you want to see?"

Clara opened her mouth to say the first thing that popped into it…when her face fell, "I don't know. You know when someone asks you your favorite book and you forget every book you've read?"

"No. Totally not."

"I ended up reading mostly bedtime stories," Mac shrugged, thinking of her younger siblings. Even when they were all in the Academy together she'd still visit them at night before they were to go to sleep, at first it was to read them stories, help them transition to being away from home. Then it just sort of became her visiting to see how their day went and sometimes reading stories or helping them study.

"Well that's a thing," Clara told the Doctor, "That happens."

"And?" the Doctor blinked, "Back to the question."

"Ok," Clara nodded, turning to start pacing in thought, making the Doctor gesture back and forth between her and Mac behind Clara's back as Mac rolled her eyes, "So...so...so...so, I'd like to see...I would like to see...what I would like to see is..." she grinned and spun around to face them, "Something awesome."

"Awesome it is then," Mac laughed, turning with the Doctor to start the TARDIS up.

~8~

The doors to the TARDIS opened and the Doctor and Mac stepped out, both guiding Clara, who had her eyes closed, out by a hand each, Mac letting go briefly to shut the TARDIS door, before hurrying back to her side as the Doctor spoke, "Can you feel the light on your eyelids?"

"Mhmm," Clara nodded, grinning in anticipation.

"It's an alien sun shining on you," Mac told her, the two of them leading her to the edge of the asteroid they'd parked on, "Just take one more step…perfect. Ready?"

"Yes," Clara said instantly, "No. Yes?"

"Open your eyes."

Clara slowly opened them to see they were on the edge of a large floating rock, before an enormous sun. There were other rocks floating by, asteroids, one with what looked like a desert city on top of it.

"Welcome to the Rings of Akhaten," the Doctor beamed.

"It's..." Clara breathed, shaking her head, unable to find the words to describe just what it was.

But they knew.

"It is," the Doctor agreed, "It so completely is. But wait! There's more."

"More what?"

"Wait, wait, wait," the Doctor checked his watch, nearly bouncing in anticipation like Clara had been, "In about five, four, three, two..." he pointed ahead where the asteroid of the city passed and revealed another with a large, shining pyramid on top of it.

"What is it?" Clara stared in awe.

"The Pyramid of the Rings of Akhaten," Mac smiled at it, "It's a holy site for the Sun-singers of Akhet."

"The who of what?"

"Seven worlds orbiting the same star," the Doctor mused as he observed it, "All of them sharing a belief that life in the universe originated here. On that planet."

"All life?"

"In the universe."

"Did it?"

"They believe it did," Mac shrugged, "And who are we to dispute their belief system? Everyone needs something to believe it," she smiled at the Doctor making him wink back at her.

"Can we see it?" Clara turned to them, "Up close?"

The Doctor laughed, "You're my companion, course you can!" and turned to hurry back to the TARDIS, but Clara spoke again, making him pause.

"Hold on, YOUR companion?" Clara crossed her arms, "What, Mackenzie doesn't get one?"

"I _can't_ have one," Mac offered her a small smile, touched that Clara considered her, the Doctor was a bit blinding in his own right.

"What?" Clara turned to her, "Why not? Is that like a rule? Girls can't have companions? That's a bit sexist…"

"No, no," Mac laughed, "Nothing like that. The TARDIS," she gestured at the box, "Can't recognize me as a pilot because, well…we'd have to be within the range of our planet and…it was lost, um, it's gone," she told her, "The Doctor and I are the last Time Lords left."

"I'm so sorry," Clara breathed, horrified, "Can I ask what happened?"

"A war," the Doctor shrugged, "Us and the Daleks and both sides lost in the end. The Daleks keep coming back though, but we…we've dealt with them every time so far."

"I really am sorry," Clara looked between them.

"Anyway, because Gallifrey's gone, I can't be a pilot," Mac continued, "And because I'm not recognized as an official pilot, I can't take on official companions."

Clara nodded, "What about…unofficially?"

Mac blinked, "Sorry?"

"Can't I be like your unofficial companion then?" Clara asked.

Mac blinked again, "You…want to be MY companion?" she glanced at the Doctor, who was grinning, and back to Clara.

"Why not?" Clara smiled, "You said YOU weren't a recognized pilot so that means the Doctor is, right? He's probably had LOADS of companions so far and you haven't. So!" she stepped beside Mac and linked her arm through hers, "Consider me YOUR companion, unofficially."

"Clara," Mac shook her head, "I would love for you to be my companion, but being an official one, being recognized by the TARDIS as being on, means that you'll be protected. The TARDIS won't be able to respond to you the same if you're my unofficial companion than if you were the Doctor's companion."

"Well that's a risk I'll just have to take," Clara nodded firmly, "You're not getting rid of me that easily missy."

The Doctor chuckled at that, "I think it's a brilliant idea," he smiled at Mac, "It could be good practice if we ever work out a loophole or something to make you an official pilot."

Mac smiled at that and looked at Clara, "If you're sure…"

"I am," Clara said, resolute, "Now, let's go see that city!"

~8~

The TARDIS set down in the middle of a market, though a little off to the side, hidden behind some stalls so as not to be noticed, the two Time Lords hurrying out with Clara racing after them. The girl smiled widely, staring in awe at all the various alien races wandering about, there were so many and hardly more than one of a kind, it was overwhelming…but brilliant!

"Where are they from?" Clara breathed as the Time Lords stepped beside her.

"Oh, you know, the local system mostly," the Doctor shrugged.

"What do I call them?"

"You want to take this one dear?" the Doctor smiled, "She is, after all, YOUR companion."

Mac rolled her eyes at him but grinned, "Those are Panbabylonians," she started pointing to the various aliens around them, "There's a Lugal-Irra-Kush. Lucanians, Hooloovoo, Qom VoTivig. That one's a Terraberserker of the Kodion Belt. There's an Ultramancer…" she trailed off, seeing Clara struggle to keep up, "Sorry."

"You know, I forget how much I like it here," the Doctor remarked, "We should come here more often."

"You've been here before?" Clara glanced at him.

"Yes, I came here a long time ago with my granddaughter," he took Mac's hand and tugged her off towards a booth in the back he'd spotted, Mac grabbing Clara's hand to take her along with them so she wouldn't get lost. The Doctor rushed over and picked up a small bowl in each hand that had some blue glowing mush on it, "Exotic fruit of some description," he handed one to Clara and scanned the other with the sonic, "Non-toxic. Non-hallucinogenic. High in free radicals. And low in other stuff, I shouldn't wonder," he took a bite of it and glanced at Clara as she took one before he handed his to Mac to try it, "No?" he laughed when Clara grimaced.

"It's alright," Mac shrugged, handing hers back to the Doctor.

"So, why's everyone here?" Clara set hers down and looked around.

"Right now, Clara, it's the Festival of Offerings," Mac explained as they turned to stroll around a bit, "It happens once every 1000 years, just as the rings align."

"It's quite a big thing, locally," the Doctor nodded, "Like Pancake Tuesday," he started to wander off to the side, Mac rolling her eyes and going to stop him from trying to trade the sonic for what looked like a fez, when they heard a barking noise behind them and Clara calling for them.

They turned and rushed over to where a large alien with what appeared to be a dog-like face was barking at Clara, the Doctor quickly yapping at it to make it back down.

"What's happening?" Clara gasped, "Why's it angry?"

"It's not angry," Mac laughed, "She's a vendor, she's trying to sell a moped."

"Yes, and it's a she too," the Doctor agreed, "Dor'een, meet Clara and my Chosen, Mackenzie. Clara, Kenzie, meet Dor'een."

"Doreen?" Clara blinked at him, the Chosen comment not even affecting her, if they were aliens, maybe Chosen was what a wife was.

"Loose translation. She sounds a bit grumpy but she's a total love, actually, aren't you?" he cooed, tickling Dor'een under the chin, "Yes, you are."

Dor'een made a sort of barking laugh and stepped aside to reveal the moped, like a sort moped with no wheels and a bit wider, more an intergalactic one than a regular moped.

"So how much does it cost?" Clara wondered.

"They don't trade in money here," Mac shook her head, "They like trading something of value for something of equal sentimental value. It's call psychometry."

"Yes, objects psychically imprinted with their history," the Doctor nodded, "The more treasured they are, the more value they hold."

"That's horrible," Clara frowned at the thought of giving up something so close and dear to one's heart just because they wanted to buy something material.

"Better than using bits of paper."

"Then you pay," she huffed.

"With what?" he chuckled.

"You're both over a thousand years old. You must have something you care about."

"Yes," the Doctor agreed, "Each other," he wound his arm around Mac's waist, "But they don't trade people. That's slavery, and that's bad."

Clara shook her head at them and turned to look around as the Doctor led Mac off to someone selling colored fezzes just a few feet away.

When they turned back though…Clara was gone.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Mac stared at the spot by Dor'een Clara had just been standing in, "Did we not tell her no wandering off? Did we? I can't remember who we've told that to any longer…"

The Doctor just chuckled, "She'll be fine dear."

"We have to find her," Mac turned to him, already starting to fret, "We have to find her now. She shouldn't be wandering off. Why do they always do that?"

"I've no idea," he grinned, amused.

"Are you enjoying this?!" she crossed her arms.

"Just…observing," he laughed, putting his arm around her shoulders, "Hard to keep up with a companion eh?"

Mac sighed, "I just…she JUST became my companion and I've already lost her!" she bit her lip and glanced at him, worried, "This is why I don't want any children ever again," she told him quietly, "I always lose them, I get them for such a short time and then something terrible happens to them and I should have known it would be the same for a companion, I should have refused and told her to be yours and…"

"Hey, hey now," the Doctor turned to her, touching her cheek, "This isn't your fault. Children wander, humans especially wander, we WILL find her though. Clara's a grown woman, near enough, she'll be alright handling herself till we find her. It's the Festival of Offerings, what could possibly go wrong here?"

Mac gave him a look, "You REALLY had to say that, didn't you?"

"What's wrong with that?"

Mac just shook her head, "You, dear, are the ultimate jinx," she sighed, turning to head off through the market, "Come on, we need to find Clara before what could possibly go wrong does go wrong."

~8~

Luckily they had been able to find Clara relatively quickly, and just in time for the main performance of the festival too! The trio quickly ran into the amphitheater that the performance, a song, was going to take place in, a little girl dressed in red robes standing on a pedestal and facing the floating pyramid, as they ran in and quickly took their seats. Mac winced with every noise the Doctor made on the way up, having used the psychic paper to get access…something Clara seemed to have realized they wouldn't have had otherwise.

But still, they took their seats and eagerly awaited the start of the song. The little girl turned back to look at the audience, though Mac noticed that she looked at Clara with more familiarity and that Clara gave her an encouraging nod. She felt herself let out a breath of relief at that, at least now she knew where Clara had been during their search for her, with the little girl, the Queen of Years, Merry Gejelh according to the pamphlets that had been handed out.

Merry turned back to face the pyramid, starting to sing, "Akhaten…oh, god of Akhaten..."

"What are they doing?" Clara whispered to them.

"They're singing to the Akhaten in the Temple," Mac told her, holding up the pamphlet to show her the information, "They call him the Old God or Grandfather too."

"And what are they singing?"

"The Long Song," the Doctor answered this time, "A lullaby without end. To feed the old god. Keep him asleep. It's been going for millions of years. Chorister handing over to Chorister. Generation after generation after generation."

Clara looked around as Merry sang, seeing people in the audience holding out their hands, small objects in them, some were old and worn, clearly very personal and very treasured possessions, "What are they doing?"

"Making offerings to the old god, to feed it," Mac whispered, nodding at the objects as they turned into small flecks of gold and drifted towards the sun.

"Oh, god of..." Merry's voice rang out, growing stronger as she caught sight of the gold drifting past, knowing it meant the old god had accepted the offerings, "Oh, god of...oh god of Akhaten..." they glanced around, seeing the audience joining in the song, the Doctor trying to do so as well but coming in a bit early though it didn't seem to disturb Merry as she continued, "Akhaten...oh, god of...oh, god of...oh, god of...oh, god of Akhaten…"

The singing stopped abruptly though when Merry's voice caught in her throat on the last word, as though sensing something had gone very wrong. She froze, they could see her little shoulders stiffening as she turned to look at them all, her eyes wide in fear…only for a beam of light to shoot out from the temple in the pyramid and strike Merry, lifting her up off the pedestal.

"Ok," Clara frowned, "What's happening? Is this supposed to happen?"

"Help!" Merry screamed, answering that question.

"Is somebody going to do something?" Clara stood and looked around as the Time Lords hurried down the seats to the main floor, "Excuse me? Is somebody going to help her?" she looked over just as the Time Lords reached the ground, but Merry was pulled away, through space, towards the pyramid, the Time Lords rushing out of the room with her after them.

"Why are we walking away?" she demanded as she caught up with them in the market, "We can't just walk away. This is my fault! I talked her into doing this!"

"Listen," the Doctor turned around, stopping them both, "There's one thing you need to know about travelling with us, well, one thing apart from the blue box and the two hearts and the…" Mac leaned over and kissed him quickly, telling him to stop talking without forcing him to.

"We don't ever walk away," Mac finished, knowing the Doctor could ramble about quite a few other things that Clara would need to know, "Now come on," she took his hand and pulled him on, the three of them hurrying to Dor'een's stall, the Doctor barking and yapping while Dor'een growled back.

He started to pat himself down as Mac dug around in her pockets, "We need something precious…" he mumbled.

"Well, you must have something," Clara shook her head at them, "All the places you've seen."

"Nothing on me," Mac frowned, "My pockets are full of odds and ends, nothing I'm really attached to except this," she gripped the TARDIS key around her neck, "But we can't ever let someone have access to the TARDIS."

"And I've got this," the Doctor pulled the sonic from his pocket, "I don't want to give it away. It comes in handy."

"You're 1,000 years old. And that's it, a key and a spanner?"

"Screwdriver!" the Doctor huffed.

Clara hesitated and looked down at her right hand, touching a ring on one of her fingers, "It's my Mum's," she mumbled, making them shift as though they knew why it was so important to her, but she slipped it off and handed it to Dor'een, thinking of how her mother had always protected her as a little girl, how Merry was just a little girl and needed protection.

Dor'een took it and quickly sensed the importance of it, stepping away from the moped to allow them access. They hurried onto it, the Doctor in front, then Mac, then Clara, and it began to hover in the air before it took off into space. They could see Merry being pulled towards the moped rather easily, the light in the darkness of space made it glaringly obvious. The Doctor sped up, tossing the sonic to Mac to increase the power enough for them to take off towards the girl.

"Merry!" Clara shouted, shifting to try and reach out for her, her hands just barely brushing Merry's when she was sucked right into the pyramid with a scream, sending the Doctor racing the moped after her, "Brakes!" Clara screamed when the moped approached a small ledge outside the door Merry disappeared through rather quickly, "Brakes!"

The Doctor turned the moped to the side, slowing but skidding to a stop on the ledge a few feet away from the door, "Ok," he breathed, patting Mac's hands on his neck, "Time to let go."

Mac nodded, "Easy for you to say," she grimaced, "Clara…could you maybe let go of my waist?"

"I can't," she panted, shaking.

"It's a bit uncomfortable…"

"Why?"

"I can't feel my middle now, you're holding rather tight," Mac told her.

Clara quickly let go from where she had a death grip on Mac's waist, "Sorry," she mumbled, getting off the moped with the others as they rushed to the door, trying to get it to lift up and let them in.

The Doctor frowned as he scanned it, Mac pressing her ear to it to try and listen through it, "Oh that's interesting," he muttered staring at the sonic.

"I'm going to guess it's a bad interesting," Mac mumbled, moving onto her knees to see if she could slip a mirror under the door to check on Merry.

"Rather a bad one yes," the Doctor nodded, "A frequency modulated acoustic lock The key changes ten million, zillion, squillion times a second."

"Wonderful."

"Can you open it?" Clara frowned.

"Technically, no," the Doctor sighed, "In reality, also no. But still...let's give it a stab," he moved backwards, about ready to run at the door when Mac called out.

"You throw yourself into the door you'll hit a wall Doctor," Mac huffed, putting her mirror back into her pocket and standing up, "It's solid stone, I can't even fit a mirror under it."

"How can they just stand there and watch?" Clara breathed as the Doctor moved back to the door and tried to sonic around it, Mac feeling the wall to search for a hidden switch.

"Because this is sacred ground," the Doctor muttered.

"And she's a child."

"And he's a god. Well, he is to them, anyway."

Mac winced as they heard Merry screaming from inside, "We need to get in there…" she felt around in her pockets, but there was hardly anything in there that would be useful against a solid stone wall, "Doctor?"

He nodded and scanned the door once more, grinning widely when the sonic hummed louder, "Yes! The sonic's locked on to the acoustic tumblers."

"Meaning?" Clara shook her head.

"Meaning, stand back," Mac moved over to Clara's side and tugged her back to let the Doctor get a clear shot of the door.

He quickly flicked it on and the door slowly began to rise, allowing them to see Merry standing inside, another older man in a similar red robe kneeling on the ground, singing, before what looked like a aged, brown-skinned alien in a glass case that was sitting on a throne. He offered the young girl a smile, "Hello there. I'm the Doctor. That's my Chosen, Kenzie. And you've met Clara. She was supposed to be having a nice day out," he turned off the sonic to try and entire the room, only for the door to start closing and forcing him to whip it up again to hold it, "It's early yet. Are you coming, then?" he asked Merry as she just stood there, "Did I mention that the door is immensely heavy?"

Mac ducked under it and hurried into the room, Clara following her, though Mac moved around the sides of it, looking for something while Clara moved to check on Merry.

"Leave!" Merry pulled back, "You'll wake him!"

"Really quite extraordinarily heavy," the Doctor grunted, trying to spot Mac.

"Merry, we need to leave," Clara tried to reach for Merry once more.

"No," the girl still pulled away, "Go away!"

"Not without you."

"You said I wouldn't get it wrong and then I got it wrong! And now this has happened. Look what's happened!"

"It wasn't you Merry," Mac called, rushing past them with a thick wooden pillar of sorts, like what a thicker candle would be placed on, and hurried to the Doctor, placing it down along the wall, "Let go," she told him and he released the door, letting it close slightly till it landed on the pillar and stayed open.

"Brilliant," he smiled at her, ducking under the door to get in and kissing her quickly.

"You would have been fine," she muttered, letting Clara finish speaking to Merry behind them, "Strong arms eh?"

He grinned widely at that, "Yeah," and winked at her.

"…he's ugly," they heard Clara remark and turned to see she'd approached the figure in the glass case to look at it, "But, you know, to be honest..." she turned to Merry, "I don't think he looks big enough."

"Not our meat," Merry huffed, "Our souls," she backed away when Clara tried to reach for her once more and put her hands to her forehead, sending a purple blast of energy at Clara and pinning her to the glass case, "He doesn't want you, he wants me. If you don't leave, he'll eat you all up too."

"Yes and you don't want that, do you?" the Doctor stepped up, "You want us to walk out of that quite astonishingly heavy door and never come back," he nodded back towards it.

"Yes," Merry said promptly.

"Well sorry sweetie," Mac stepped over to her, kneeling down to Merry's height, "But I'm a mum, and I don't EVER let a child be in danger."

"You're a mum!?" Clara called from the glass case.

But Mac just continued, "We are going to get you out of here and protect everyone," she reached out to take Merry's hands, the little girl looking down at them, "And no one, not even an old god, will stop us. Not even a grandfather gets in the way of a mummy or daddy trying to save a child. Ok?"

Whatever Merry was about to say was cut off when there was a cracking noise of splitting wood and they looked over to see that the pillar had snapped, the door falling completely down, trapping them.

"Did we just get locked in?" Clara blinked at the door.

"Seem so," the Doctor winced.

"With the soul-eating monster?"

"Yes."

"And is there actually a way to get out?"

The Doctor looked back at her, "What? Before it eats our souls?"

"Ideally, yes."

"Possibly. Probably. There usually seems to be."

"You're not really helping my efforts here Doctor," Mac muttered, nodding at Merry who looked concerned again.

"Um," Clara called, pulling their attention back to see her looking at the priest kneeling on the floor, still singing his song under his breath, not having stopped for a moment since they arrived, "Why is he still singing?"

"He's trying to sing the Old God back to sleep," the Doctor sided, moving to crouch before the man, "It's not going to happen. He's waking up, mate. He coming, ready or not. You want to run…" he waited a moment as the man faltered in his singing, "That's it, then? Song's over?"

The man looked at him, startled, "The song is over," he whispered, standing up, "My name is Chorister Rezh Baphix, and the Long Song ended with me," he quickly pushed a button on his wrist device and disappeared, teleporting out of the room.

"That's it, then!" the Doctor grinned, standing and clapping his hands, "Song's over!" he turned, flashing the sonic at the glass case, waking the mummy-like alien within as it roared, "Ha ha!"

"Doctor!" Mac huffed, getting up and stepping after him but he rushed up to the cage to peer closer at the creature within.

"Look at that."

"You've woken him!" Merry cried as the creature started to slam itself against the cage though it didn't make any noise to them.

"It's awake?" Clara gasped, trying to look at it but couldn't, "What's it doing?"

"Oh, you know, having a nice stretch," the Doctor shrugged as he made his way around the cage, "No, we didn't wake him."

"And neither did you Merry," Mac added.

"Yes," the Doctor pointed at her, "He's waking because it's his time to wake. And feed. On you, apparently. On your stories."

"She didn't say stories, she said souls," Clara hissed as he made his way around and to her side again.

"Same thing. The soul's made of stories, not atoms. Everything that ever happened to us. People we love. People we lost. People we found again, against all the odds. He threatens to wake, they offer him a pure soul. The soul of the Queen of Years."

"Doctor…not exactly giving her a gentle bedtime story here," Mac crossed her arms, giving him a dry look, "Try again."

"I'm just trying to make her realize what she's sacrificing," he defended, "She should know what that means."

"She's a child Doctor," Mac shook her head, "She's been raised her whole life to believe the stories, she probably thinks a god chose her…"

"A god DID choose me!" Merry defended.

Mac gave him a pointed look and the Doctor sighed, "It's not a god! It'll feed on your soul, but that doesn't make it a god. It is a vampire and you don't need to give yourself to it. Hey, do you mind if I tell you a story? A better one," he promised Mac, moving to lean over in front of Merry, "One you might not have heard? All the elements in your body were forged many, many millions of years ago, in the heart of a far away star that exploded and died," he knelt down, "That explosion scattered those elements across the desolations of deep space. After so, so many millions of years, these elements came together to form new stars and new planets. And on and on it went. The elements came together and burst apart, forming shoes and ships and sealing-wax and cabbages and kings," he smiled, slowly getting up to move behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders, "Until eventually, they came together to make you. You're unique in the universe. There is only one Merry Gejelh. And there will never be another. Getting rid of that existence isn't a sacrifice," he moved in front of her, looking her in the eye, "It is a waste."

"So…" Merry hesitated, "If I don't, then everyone else..."

"Will be just fine," Mac promised, "The Doctor and I have a lot of experience keeping people safe from many things, an old god is small in comparison," she winked at Merry.

"How?"

"There's always a way," the Doctor remarked.

"You promise?"

The Doctor crossed both his hearts, "Cross my hearts," he held out a hand to Merry to take and she gripped it tightly, glancing at Clara and releasing her from the force holding her to the case. Mac hurried over to help Clara stumble away, the human staring in disgust and horror at the sight of the alien that was awake and slamming against the glass behind her.

"Having a nice stretch?!" Clara nearly shouted at the Doctor, only for the ground to start shaking beneath them, "Something's coming. What's coming?"

"The Vigil," Merry breathed, moving closer to the Doctor.

"And what's the Vigil?" he looked down at her.

"If the Queen of Years is unwilling to be feasted upon..."

"What is it Merry?" Mac frowned, seeing true terror in the girl's eyes.

"It's their job to feed her to Grandfather," and then, just like that, three creatures appeared, pale skinned, with goggles on, dressed in tight black outfits with something over their mouths, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Don't worry Merry," Mac joined the Doctor, standing beside him, taking her hand to pass her to Clara, they're not going to harm you."

"Yeah, stay back," the Doctor aimed his sonic at the Vigil as well, "I'm armed. With a screwdriver."

"Didn't need to add that last one," Mac whispered to him.

The Vigil let out an enormous bellow, knocking the sonic from the Doctor's hand, bellowing again to send the two Time Lords flying backwards.

"Clara get her back!" Mac shouted, having landed near the sonic and flicked it on at the Vigil, distracting them enough for Clara to rush out to the side of the room with Merry.

"Merry," the Doctor called as he stood, joining Mac and taking the sonic from her, shifting it to create a sort of force field between them and the Vigil, "You know all the stories. You must know if there's another way out."

"There's the tale," Merry nodded, "A secret song. 'The Thief of the Temple and the Nimmer's Door.'"

"And the secret songs open the secret door?" Clara guessed and Merry nodded again, "How does it go? Can you sing it?"

Merry turned and sang a gentle tune, opening a side door enough for her and Clara to rush out it, the Doctor and Mac making their way around towards it as well. The Doctor thrust the sonic forward, flicking the force field away from them and around the Vigil, trapping them just as the mummy-like alien roared in the case.

Mac grabbed the Doctor's hand and rushed outside to where Clara and Merry were by the moped, the Doctor flicking the sonic at the doorway to close it when a beam of light shot out from the pyramid and into the sun.

Clara looked at the Time Lords when she saw that the Vigil were gone and hadn't come after them, "Where did they go?"

"Grandfather's awake," the Doctor shook his head, "They're of no function any more."

"Well, you could sound happier about it."

They winced as a small explosion sounded…coming from the sun, "Actually, I think I may have made a tactical boo-boo. More of a semantics mix-up, really."

"What boo-boo?"

Mac bit her lip before she sighed, "It turns out that the Old God isn't the same thing as Grandfather…the Old God," she nodded back to the door, to the mummy-like alien, "Is more the thing that triggers Grandfather waking."

"And there he is…" the Doctor pointed towards the sun that was now glowing unnaturally bright, seeming to be growing bigger and expanding.

"Oh, my stars…" Clara breathed, "What do we do?"

"Against that? I don't know. Do you know? I don't know. Any ideas?"

"But you promised!" Merry gasped, "You promised!"

"Yes," Mac nodded, "We did promise, and we will follow through," she told merry.

But Merry shook her head, "He'll eat us all. He'll spread across the system, consuming the Seven Worlds. And when there's no more to eat, he'll embark on a new odyssey among the stars."

"I say leg it," Clara stared at the star.

"Leg it where, exactly?" the Doctor scoffed.

"Don't know. Lake District?"

"Oh that was a lovely time," Mac smiled, "We went there once, best scones in the universe."

"Yes, but only if you go in 1927…" the Doctor started to trail off, seeing a face starting to form in the sun in a dark gas.

"You're going to fight it, aren't you?" Clara guessed.

"Regrettably, yes. I think I may be about to do that."

"It's really big."

"I've seen bigger."

"Really?" Clara looked at him.

"Are you joking? It's massive!" he gave her a look.

"We'll face it together," Mac took his hand.

But the Doctor closed his eyes, "No," he looked at her, "You know what YOU have to do," his gaze flickered to Clara and Merry, "She's YOUR companion dear."

"And YOU are my Chosen."

"And you know what I'd want you to do, what you'd want ME to do if the situation were reversed," he remarked. If SHE were going to face the star, she'd want the others safe first, "Protect them, then come help me, ok?" he reached out to take her face in his hands.

Mac bit her lip, not wanting to agree, but sighed, "Ok."

"Brilliant," he smiled, kissing her lips and then her forehead, "You go, now, I'll handle that thing."

"Be safe," she warned him, before turning to hurry Clara and Merry off to the moped, the sooner she got them back to the amphitheater the sooner she could come back to help the Doctor.

~8~

Mac flew the moped back to the amphitheater as quickly as she could, Clara hopping off to help Merry down. Mac got off as well, looking around to try and see if there was anything there that she could possibly bring with her to help the Doctor.

"Isn't he frightened?" Merry asked, but Mac was too focused on those around her.

"I think he is," Clara nodded instead, "I think he's very frightened."

"I want to help."

"So do I."

Mac bit her lip and looked around again, but the only thing in this room was the pedestal, the people, one or two with the remnants of their offerings still in hand, the ones in the far back that had only just started to be taken when the song had taken a sour note.

And then it hit her.

"Merry!" she spun around and hurried over to the girl, kneeling down before her and taking her hands, "Can you sing for him?"

"Sing what?" Merry shook her head.

"Anything," Mac squeezed her hands, "Anything at all, any song you think might be able to help him face the sun. A…a song of encouragement or strength, something so he knows that he's not facing this alone, something that what he's facing knows that you aren't afraid of it anymore."

Merry hesitated, thinking about it, before she nodded, "I think I know one," she murmured, getting up to stand on the pedestal. She glanced at Mac and Clara a moment before facing the pyramid, starting to sing, "Rest now, My warrior. Rest now, hardship is over. Live. Wake up. Wake up…"

"Wake up…" the rest of the crowd began to join in, though Mac could see some tendrils of light drifting from it to the pyramid where the Doctor was undoubtedly trying to talk it down.

"And let the cloak of life cling to your bones...Wake up, wake up! And let the cloak of life cling to your bones. Wake up Wake up!"

Mac watched as the sun seemed to darken a moment before it suddenly expanded and grew brighter and bigger, "I have to go," Mac shook her head, hurrying to the moped.

"No, wait!" Clara rushed after her.

"Clara I have to go," Mac told her.

"I know," Clara got on behind her, "I think I know what can stop it."

Mac looked at her a moment before she nodded and sent the moped off, the two of them racing back to the pyramid, to the Doctor.

~8~

Mac and Clara found the Doctor on his knees along a ledge on the other side of the pyramid, Mac rushing to his side instantly, dropping to her knees to check on him. He seemed out of breath, in a bit of pain, with a tear track down his cheek, but he seemed ok, he hugged her tightly the second she was close enough and she returned it.

Clara smiled at the sight before she stepped forward, facing the sun with her 101 places to see book in her arms, "Still hungry?" she called to the sun, opening the book and picking up her leaf, page one, and holding it up to it, "Well, I brought something for you. This. The most important leaf in human history. The most important leaf in human history. It's full of stories, full of history. And full of a future that never got lived. Days that should have been that never were. Passed on to me. This leaf isn't just the past, it's a whole future that never happened. There are billions and millions of unlived days for every day we live. An infinity. All the days that never came. And these are all my mum's," she watched as the tendrils of light began to set out from the sun, towards the leaf and slowly turned it into specks of light, like the other offerings, eating it up.

"Well, come on then," the Doctor grunted as Mac helped him up and over to Clara, "Eat up. Are you full? I expect so because there's quite a difference, isn't there, between what was and what should have been? There's an awful lot of one, but there's an infinity of the other. And infinity's too much. Even for your appetite."

Mac kept her eyes on Clara's face as the leaf was entirely eaten, though Clara and the Doctor were watching as the sun imploded, leaving them in darkness. She stepped away from the Doctor for a moment and hugged Clara tightly, knowing that it had to be hard for her to give that up, and that was the second thing precious to her she'd lost on this journey.

"I am so proud of you Clara," she told the girl, hugging her tightly.

"Thank you," Clara murmured, returning the hug.

~8~

The TARDIS was down before the Maitland home once more, Clara looking out the door as the Time Lords stood by the console, "Home again, home again, jiggity-jig!" the Doctor smiled.

"It looks different," Clara remarked.

"Eyes of a time traveler," Mac smiled, "Alters your perspective."

"Same house," the Doctor agreed, "Same city. Same planet. Same day, actually. Not bad. Hole in one!"

"I'd say a bit more than that," Mac laughed, winding her arm around his waist, "With YOUR piloting…that's quite remarkable a feat."

He rolled his eyes but put a kiss to her head for the compliment.

"You were there," Clara turned around, shutting the door to walk over to them, all the talk of her mother and how she'd lost her reminding her of the time she'd been t her mum's grave and seen two people watching from behind a tree before they left, "At Mum's grave. You were watching. What were you doing there?"

"I don't know…" the Doctor fidgeted, "We were just... making sure."

"Of what?"

"We thought you were someone else," Mac supplied, "Someone we knew who died a short while ago."

"Well, whoever she was, I'm not her," Clara told them, "If you want me to travel with you both, that's fine. But as me. Not a bargain basement stand-in for someone else. I not going to compete with a ghost."

"And you shouldn't have to," Mac nodded.

"Here," the Doctor pulled a ring from his pocket, Clara's mother's ring, "They wanted you to have it."

"Who did?" Clara blinked, taking it back with a breathless air, stunned to see it again.

"Everyone. All the people you saved."

Mac smiled as Clara kissed the ring and slipped it back on, "And we know," she added, "You're not her, you're you, you're just Clara."

Clara smiled and nodded, happy, before she turned and hurried out of the TARDIS, the Time Lords smiling as they watched her go, already thinking of what their next adventure would be.

A/N: Sorry this was late, I had a note on my tumblr about it. My brother and his firemen buddies should not be drinking at barbeques and things. One of the drunker members started a fight with my brother and he reacted in self defense. He got in a fight with my father afterwards about it and I played mediator till about 3am. I know I also promised 2 chapters today, unforseen events arose this morning. Apparently the 'self defense' my brother was involved in wasn't cited as that and he was called into a hearing this morning by the council in his department and everyone who witnessed the altercation had to go and then after that had to go to the police station to give a statement, along with all the people who witnessed it, and by the time I got back I had to play mediator again :(

So split the double whammy. At some point this week, we'll get 1 double posting of OUAT, and 1 double posting of DW though :)

As for this chapter...I was debating whether to make Clara like a daughter to the Time Lords since Mac's a mother hen sort of person at times, but I have an AU for Angel (my 3rd TL) where Clara is literally their daughter and I wanted to try and stay away from that so we get Clara as MAC's Companion instead of the Doctor's ;) I feel like it can sort of explain why the TARDIS is so different with her than other companions, because she's not an official one as Mac isn't an official pilot ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Nope, Evy didn't come from V for Vendetta, I actually hadn't seen that movie or knew there was a character from it (and it made me laugh to know it was Natalie Portman also) till it was brought up in a review. I did see the movie after though, I loved it :)

I'm more an oldschool MLP fan, I actually had a MLP sweatshirt I wore in High School a few times lol :)


	14. Cold War

Cold War

Of all the places Mac thought the Doctor could have possibly landed the TARDIS in on their way to Vegas…a sinking soviet submarine was NOT one of them. And yet, when the Doctor opened the door after setting them down and ran out with a cry of 'Viva Las Vegas!'…that was where they had landed. She and Clara half fell through the doorway and into the submarine as it shook and jolted, sending them falling onto the control panel beside the Doctor, soaking wet from all the water splashing around them, up to their knees on the ground, falling on top of them from above, it was all too clear within moments that it was sinking.

"Intruder on the bridge!" one of the men called when they caught sight of the three of them, which wasn't much of a hard thing to do given their box had appeared in the middle of the room in the middle of a crisis and they had all fallen out of it.

"Who the hell are you?!" another man, an older man, the captain judging by his uniform and markings, demanded.

"Not Vegas then!" Clara guessed, shouting over the noise of the splashing water and alarms blaring.

"Not quite," Mac sighed, "I TOLD you I should have piloted Doctor!"

"Oh but this is much better!" the Doctor grinned, pushing his wet hair from his face and taking the sunglasses he'd been wearing off.

"A sinking submarine?" Clara scoffed.

"A sinking _Soviet_ submarine!"

"And given the equipment Doctor," Mac huffed, trying to pull her sticky wet hair from her face, "It's in the middle of the Cold War! NOT a good place to be!"

"Ooh…" he pouted as though realizing that, "Yes…right…"

"Break out side arms!" the young man who had shouted about their appearance, probably the first mate, ordered, "Restrain them!"

"410," one of the crewmen reported, "420! Turbines still not responding!"

"They've got to!" the captain turned to him.

The Doctor quickly grabbed the sonic and held it up to scan the ship, "Ah! Sideways momentum! You've still got sideways momentum!"

"What?" the captain shook his head.

"Your propellers work independently of the main turbines. You can't stop her going down but you can maneuver the sub laterally! Do it!"

"Get these people off the bridge now!" the first mate cried and three men grabbed the three travelers.

"Just listen to him, for God's sake!" Clara shouted.

"Geographical anomaly to starboard," the Doctor informed them, "Probably an underwater ridge."

"How do you know this?" the captain gave him a skeptical look.

"Look, we have just a chance to stop the descent if we settle on it. Do it!"

"600 meters, sir," the crewman called, "610..."

"Or this thing is going to implode," the Doctor warned.

That was all the captain needed to give the order, "Lateral thrust to starboard, all propellers!"

"Sir?" the crewman frowned.

"NOW!"

"You're going to let this madman give the orders?" the first mate gaped.

But the captain just ignored him, "Lateral thrust!"

"Aye, sir!" the crewman agreed, turning to do just that, "660...680..." he held his breath as they all felt the sub slow and stop with a small shake, "Descent arrested at...700 meters."

The captain let out a breath and glanced at the Doctor, "It seems we owe you our lives, whoever you are."

"I'll hold you to that," he grinned, putting the sonic away, "Might come in handy!"

"Search them!" the first mate ordered the moment things were calm enough. He rolled his eyes when the crew exchanged a look at Clara and Mac, both girls standing there in dresses, "Yes, I know, they're women. Now search them!"

The travelers were pushed against a pole in the middle of the bridge, the other members started to pat them down, doing it more so with the Doctor than Mac or Clara, not that there was much to search, they were wearing dresses with no pockets.

"Are we going to be ok?" Clara whispered to them.

"We'll be fine Clara," Mac tried to reassure her.

"Well, relatively speaking," the Doctor smiled nonchalantly, "In general, very dangerous time, Clara. East and west standing on the brink of nuclear oblivion. Lots of itchy fingers on the button."

"Isn't it always like that?" Clara scoffed.

"Sort of. But there are flash points and this is one, hair, shoulder pads, nukes. It's the '80s. Everything's bigger!" he squirmed as the men began to search his pockets.

"Remind me again why I let you talk me into leaving my cardigan in the TARDIS?" Mac muttered to the Doctor. He'd begged her to wear just her dress instead of the cardigan too, claiming her current dress was very Vegas style, though she didn't see it. She was suspicious that he just wanted to see her shoulders.

"Well," he shifted as they began to dig in his pockets, "Imagine what they'd have found in YOUR pockets," he remarked frowning as the men pulled out a Barbie doll, a ball of twine, and his sonic, "I'd like a receipt, please," he tried to snatch the sonic back, but the man handed it to the captain.

"What is this?" the captain frowned at it.

No one had a chance to answer though as the sub creaked and suddenly shifted, throwing them all off balance, "Clara!" Mac gasped, reaching for her as the girl lost her footing and fell to the side, right when the TARDIS started to dematerialize, the Doctor calling out to try and stop it, but it was too late…the box was gone.

~8~

"Clara?" Mac gently tried to rouse the girl. She'd fallen before and bumped her head, not hard, both she and the Doctor could see that, but enough to knock her out just a little. They'd moved out into the hallway to try and give the other crew members a chance to get the water out of the bridge and give Clara a drier place to rest. She was soaking, even more than before as she'd fallen in the water, and one of the crew had given her his jacket to wear over her white/silver Vegas dress, "Clara, wake up sweetie…" she smiled as Clara slowly came around, "Hello."

The Doctor was standing between them and the crew, speaking to the captain, trying to get him to listen to the danger of the situation and how they could help, but the captain seemed to think they were the enemy, "Captain, we didn't know the type of your ship out here..."

"Yeah, well, that's till the rescue ship comes," the captain crossed his arms.

"_If_ it comes."

"Oh, the sinking is just a coincidence, is it? Who are you?" he grabbed the Doctor and pushed him against a wall just as Mac managed to get Clara to her feet.

"Hey, look," Mac hurried over to him, pulling her ID out from the top of her dress, making the Doctor's eyes flicker to it and then up to the ceiling, it was always the one thing she carried with her at all times, no matter what, no matter where, "UNIT Agents, ok?" she showed him it, "I'm Agent Mackenzie, and these are my associates the Doctor and Clara."

"And what are you doing on my sub?" he demanded.

"Testing out the latest prototype," Mac offered, knowing that the Soviet Union was a little reluctant to be a part of forming UNIT but had done so, she wasn't sure how much this particular captain knew about the organization so she fibbed just a little, "Didn't go according to plan, we ended up here."

"Testing it for what?" an older gentleman in the back of the small crowd asked, headphones around his neck.

"Tracking aliens?" she shrugged, though she was sure that there was a reason why the TARDIS had sent them to that particular sub at that time she wasn't sure and she knew that most military personnel were aware that UNIT was tasked and involved with alien investigation. It would have to do for now.

"Speaking of the TARDIS," Clara began, rubbing her head, "What happened to it?"

"Um, never mind that," the Doctor waved her off, spinning to face the now-calmer captain while Mac went back over to check on Clara's bump, "Listen, captain, breath's precious down here. Let's not waste it, eh?"

"You're right," the man agreed, "Maybe I can save a little oxygen by having you three shot?"

"Yes, because our superiors and yours would be thrilled with that report," Mac countered sarcastically.

"Look, what does it matter that we're here now, if you give us a little time, we'll be fine to…" Clara trailed off, glancing at the Doctor, at something that had come to stand right behind him, growling lowly, "Leave…"

Mac stiffened, seeing the creature behind the Doctor. It was tall and broad, in heavy armor, so covered that only the bottom of its face, its mouth, were visible, scaly like a reptile, "Doctor…" she began.

"Ok," the Doctor just smiled, pointing at her, thinking she was telling him to talk now, "Number one priority, not suffocating!" he patted the captain's chest, but the man was staring at the creature as well, "Eh? Ah, oh, thank you! Finally, seeing sense! Now, what sort of state is the sub in?"

"Doctor."

"What about the radio? Can we send a..."

"Doctor!" Mac finally got in.

"What?" he looked at her.

She sighed and turned, grabbing a shiny badge off of Clara's jacket and held it up, showing him something behind him in the reflection of it.

He stiffened and slowly turned to see the creature as well, backing away quickly as it growled, "It never rains but it pours," he muttered.

"We were drilling for oil in the ice," the older man, clearly academic in nature, probably a scientist or a professor of sorts, "I thought I'd found a mammoth."

"Mammoths have hair," Mac countered.

"Yes…" the man sighed, "That one's more…um, reptilian?"

"Silurian?" the Doctor mused.

"No," Mac shook her head, "Different build, different armor, that looks more like a…"

"Yes," the Doctor winced at that, realizing what she was thinking, "An Ice Warrior."

"A what?" Clara whispered.

"An Ice Warrior," Mac repeated, "From Mars."

"We go way back," the Doctor nodded, "Way back."

"A Martian?" the captain scoffed, "You can't be serious."

"I'm always serious."

"Hardly," Mac scoffed.

"With days off."

"Yes, every day that ends in a Y."

"Exactly," he grinned.

"Oi!" Clara hissed at them, poking them both to get them to focus.

"Just keeping it light, Clara," he shrugged, "They're scared."

"They're scared? _I'm_ scared!"

"Don't be," Mac took her hand to reassure her, "We know how to handle one…and it's NOT like that!" Mac turned to shove down the gun of one of the officers as their raised it at the warrior, making it lift its arm as well.

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" the Doctor quickly moved in front of the crew member, his hands up at the Ice Warrior, "Please, please, wait! Just...there's no need for this! Just hear us out! You're confused, disoriented, of course you are. You've been lying dormant in the ice for…for how long?" he snapped a finger and pointed behind him without looking, "How long, Professor?"

"By my reckoning, 5,000 years," the old man called.

"5,000 years?" Mac blinked at that before biting her lip, already that information was going to infuriate the warrior. Ice Warriors, despite being so prone to fighting and war, were easily able to adapt, to survive, and to continue on, and in doing that it meant family, it meant incredibly strong family ties. This knowledge that 5,000 years had gone by would mean the man would fear for his gene-chain, his family would long since be dead and buried and he'd have missed every single thing about it…

This was not going to end well.

"That's a hell of a nap," the Doctor began carefully, seeming to have come to the same conclusion, if they could just keep the warrior from thinking on the gap in terms of family they might have a chance, "Can't blame you if you've got out of the wrong side of bed. Nobody here wants to hurt you," he focused on the warrior once more, "Please, just, why don't you tell us your name?"

"What're you talking about?" the captain frowned, "It has a name?"

"Everyone has a name," Mac rolled her eyes, "Its suit, just like yours, denotes his rank too."

"This is a soldier," the Doctor agreed, "And it deserves our respect."

"This is madness," the captain scoffed, "That is a monster!"

"Skaldak," the warrior spoke, making both Mac and the Doctor stiffen at the name, recognizing it.

"What did you say?" the Doctor breathed, staring at the warrior in alarm.

"I am Grand Marshal Skaldak."

"Oh, no…" the Doctor closed his eyes a moment, when suddenly Skaldak let out a growl and shuddered, falling face first to the ground to reveal the first mate behind him with what looked like a cattle prod in his hand.

"What did you do!?" Mac demanded, stalking forward and swiping the prod from the man, "Have you any idea who that IS?"

"You... know him?" Clara glanced between them.

"Yes, we do," Mac rubbed her head, she'd heard tales of Skaldak, as had the Doctor.

"Sovereign of the Tharsisian caste," the Doctor looked sadly down at the fallen warrior, "Vanquisher of the Phobos heresy. The greatest hero the proud Martian race has ever produced."

"So what do we do now?" the captain frowned.

"Lock... him... up!"

"If he wakes up and he's free," Mac shook her head, "He'll wage war on you for this attack. We need to restrain him, NOW."

~8~

They'd reconvened in the communications room of the sub, watching on the monitors as two men tied Skaldak up in the torpedo room, the time travelers, the captain, professor, and first mate the only others in there, "The Ice Warriors have a different creed, Clara," the Doctor explained, "A different code. By his own standards, Skaldak is a hero. It was said his enemies honored him so much they'd carve his name into their own flesh before they died."

"Oh, yeah, very nice," Clara grimaced, "He sounds lovely."

"An Ice Warrior?" the captain frowned, "Explain."

Mac sighed, knowing the humans wouldn't let it go till they'd told them what they knew, they'd just keep asking and asking and distracting them and, truthfully, the more they knew the better able they'd be to defend themselves and make informed choices, "An Ice Warrior is a Martian reptile. Mars wasn't always as cold as it was, but when it did turn colder, the natives adapted. They made suits of armor, survival suits, that helped them live on the surface, part cyborg in design really. It'd good in one type of temperature but if it suddenly changes, then the armor freezes and shocks the user to slumber."

"Like with the cattle prod thing?" Clara realized.

"Yes."

"Design flaw I've always wondered why they never sorted," the Doctor mused.

"Is he that dangerous?"

"Not all Ice Warriors are," Mac told her.

"But this one…" the Doctor sighed, "This one is," he glanced over at the professor as the man looked at his headphones around his neck, the two Time Lords able to hear a faint beeping coming from them from across the room, Skaldak's tech was overpowering the transmission system.

"Why are we listening to this nonsense, Captain?" the first mate cried, "These people are clearly enemy agents. Spies, captain!"

"Pretty bad spies, mate," Clara laughed, "I don't even speak Russian!" the Doctor shook his head but the first mate just gave her an incredulous look.

"What?"

"I don't..."

"You are," Mac cut in, "You're speaking Russian right now, sorry, forgot to mention that the TARDIS translates anything someone else says into English and what you say into their language."

"Really?" Clara blinked, "Even me not being an official companion and stuff?"

"Yeah. Does it for everyone."

"Cool," she smiled, after all she'd seen, that was the easiest thing to accept.

"In my opinion, Comrade Captain, this creature is a Western weapon," the first mate remarked to the captain.

The captain seemed to consider that a moment, glancing at the three travelers before he moved the first mate to the side, speaking to him and the professor quietly while the Time Lords and Clara waited to see what they'd decide to do. The captain dismissing his first mate though was not something they were expecting when, moments later he ordered the man away to work on repairs for the ship.

"Sir..." the man tried to argue.

"Dismissed, Stepashin!" the captain shouted, Stepashin leaving the room with an angry glare to the time travelers.

The Doctor barely spared the man a glance on the way as he moved before the captain, "All we needed to do was let Skaldak go and he'd have forgotten us. But you've attacked him."

"Doing that, attacking an Ice Warrior unprepared," Mac shook her head, "That's equal to declaring war. In the Martian credo, 'Harm one of us and you harm us all.'"

The Doctor pointed at her and then moved his finger to the professor, "You hear that?" he moved over to the man, picking up his headphones so they could hear the beeping within it, "Skaldak's sent out a distress call. He'll bring down the fires of hell just for laying a glove on him!"

"Unless you talk to it?" the captain guessed, exasperated.

"Kenzie and I are the only ones who can," he nodded.

"No. Out of the question. We're not losing you or the girl, UNIT would have my head. I'll do it."

"What?"

"You can talk to it through me."

"What through walkie talkies and hidden earpieces?" Mac gave him a look.

"Skaldak won't talk to you!" the Doctor shook his head, "You're an enemy soldier!"

"How would he know that?" the captain countered.

"A soldier knows another soldier. He'll smell it on you! Smell it on you a mile off."

"And he wouldn't smell it on you or Agent Mackenzie, Doctor?"

Mac bit her lip at that, knowing it was true, even though she hadn't fought on the front lines long, she did have an air of someone who had seen a war like that to her, the Doctor more so, Skaldak would know it off them easily, "Whatever the case may be, he'd be more willing to listen to us than you or any of your men. YOU attacked him, we tried to stop you."

"But if you insist it can't be a soldier, then it can't be you either," he countered.

Clara cleared her throat and gave them a tentative smile, "Well, there really is only one choice, isn't there? I don't smell of anything...to my knowledge."

"Clara," Mac shook her head, "No, you can't go in there…"

"Right," the Doctor agreed, "No way. You're not going in there alone, Clara. Absolutely not! No, no. Never!"

~8~

Mac was lightly banging her head against the wall outside the torpedo room, Clara inside it with a headset on, trying to reason with Skaldak as the Doctor fed her the lines. She still didn't know how this had happened. One minute she and the Doctor were completely against Clara being in there alone, and the next thing she knew, she was shutting the torpedo door with Clara on the other side. She let out a long breath and rested her head against the wall. She had refused to stay in the communications room and watch, she wanted to be right there if Clara needed her. The only problem was she couldn't hear anything being said on the other side. The walls of the room had to be extremely thick and all she could hear was a faint knock on the metal door when Clara was on the other side to signify she was ok. She had told her to knock if she needed out and she was just listening intently for it.

She really didn't know how the companions always managed to get their way, it was like some secret trick only children and companions knew how to use on their parents and pilots (even unofficial ones).

She wasn't sure how long she stood there, listening for any sound, when suddenly there was a frantic knocking and she ran to the door and quickly worked on opening it, getting it thrown open just as the Doctor rounded the corner, shouting for Clara, when she felt herself being shoved back against the wall as a streak of green flew past her and down the corridor in the opposite direction of the Doctor.

"Kenzie!" he hurried to her side, checking on her, but she waved him off, just a bit winded from the shove, and gestured to Clara, the Doctor turning to help pull her out of the torpedo room, "Clara! Are you ok?"

"I'm ok," Clara nodded, panting a bit, but smiling, unharmed, "Ha ha, I'm ok, I'm ok! Where did he go?" she looked around and spotted Mac, rushing over to hug her and pulled back to smile at her, "How did I do? Was I ok?"

"Oh sweetie this wasn't a test," Mac touched her face, "I don't do things like that."

"I know but..."

"You were magnificent," Mac offered.

"Really?"

"Oh yes."

Clara beamed at that, making the Time Lords smile…but then the professor noticed something odd, "The signal," he held up his headphones, "It's stopped."

The Doctor tensed at that, realizing what it meant, "Skaldak got no answer from his Martian brothers. Now he's given up hope."

"Hope of what?" the captain frowned.

"Being rescued. He thinks he's been abandoned. He's got nothing left to lose."

"But what can he do stuck down here like the rest of us? How bad can it be?"

"We're in a submarine that's packed with nuclear missiles," Mac gave him a look, "Skaldak is a warrior, how long do you think it'll be before he works out what they do? What do you think he'll do with them?"

"How bad can it be?" the Doctor mocked, "It couldn't be any worse!" and then he winced as they were jolted, the sub moving in the ocean, opening a hatch and letting water pour in, "Ok, spoke too soon."

"Oh Doctor," Mac shook her head at his sheepish grin.

~8~

The captain had informed his crew about their situation, but the time travelers were a little more preoccupied than to listen to his report, sitting off to the side in the bridge, at the controls, just examining them, "Even if a missile did get launched, that wouldn't be... it, would it?" Clara frowned.

"How do you mean?" Mac glanced at her.

"End of the world. Game over. I mean, what if they fired one by accident, what would happen then?"

"We told you, Clara," the Doctor remarked, "Earth is like a storm waiting to break, right now. Both sides baring their teeth, talking up war. It would only take one tiny spark."

"But the world didn't end in 1983, did it? Or I wouldn't be here."

"Ever seen _Back to the Future_?" Mac glanced at her and she nodded.

And then Clara's eyes widened in fear, "Am I going to fade away?!"

"Maybe," Mac sighed, "If your family or grandparent or father or mother would be affected by a war like this, you might."

"History's in flux," the Doctor agreed, "It can be changed. Rewritten," he got up and walked over to the captain, "How many of us are left?"

"12," he stated, "And we can't find Stepashin."

The Doctor nodded, "We split up and comb the sub. One team stays here to guard the bridge."

"That's it? That's the plan?"

"Well, it's either that or we stay here and wait for him to kill us."

"Ok," the man sighed and walked off.

"I'd actually prefer it if we stayed here," Mac mused, "We could find odds and ends and gather back, make some sort of trap to stop him along the way, trap him, knock him out again…"

"But he's not in his suit anymore," the Doctor reminded her, "Which means we can't shock him into submission."

"Ah," she smiled, "But he's still a reptile," she moved to one of the controls, to the side of it and picked up a small cylindrical device, a fire extinguisher, "Just like with the Silurians."

He started to smile at that, "Brilliant," it wouldn't stop Skaldak but it would slow him down, disorient him enough for them to grab him and restrain him.

"Is it true you've never seen one outside of its shell suit?" Clara asked them.

"Shell suit?" the Doctor turned to her and she shrugged, "Clara!"

"You don't ever see it," Mac answered, "It's considered a dishonor among their people to leave their suits. And if he's desperate…he's got nothing to worry about losing, not even his life, makes him more dangerous than ever."

"We've got to find him and stop him," the Doctor agreed.

"Will this help?" the professor joined them, holding up the sonic.

"Ah! You saved it!" the Doctor beamed, taking it back.

"No, no, it was on the floor with this," he held up the Barbie doll as well.

"Ah," he smiled, taking the doll and kissing it, "Ah, Professor, I could kiss you!"

"If you insist," the professor remarked, unfazed.

"Um…later?" the Doctor supplied, the man shrugging and walking off.

"Ok…why have you got a Barbie doll in your pocket?" Clara shook her head.

"Some times I play Barbie with my daughter," he shrugged and walked off himself.

Clara blinked and turned to Mac, "I don't ask them anymore," was all she could say. She did walk in on River and the Doctor playing with them sometimes, probably just trying to think and recreate happier childhood memories for her, she really didn't ask though, because it was a special thing with the Doctor and River, much like she and River enjoyed discussing archaeology and such.

~8~

The small group of Clara, the Doctor, Mac, and the professor were walking down the halls, the professor with the cattle prod Mac had nabbed off Stepashin before, the Doctor scanning ahead with the sonic while Mac carried the extinguisher, "So, why have you got a cattle prod on a submarine?" Clara had to ask.

"Polar bears," the professor smiled as they approached a control panel in the wall.

"Ah, right."

"We run across them when we're drilling. Can be quite nasty, you know?"

"I'd swap one for an Ice Warrior any day. Cuddlier!"

"Courage, my dear," he laughed as the Doctor scanned the controls…and managed to set off an alarm, "I always sing a song."

"What?" Clara called above the noise as the Doctor frantically tried to shut the alarm off.

"To keep my spirits up."

"Yes, that would work... if this was _Pinocchio._"

"D'you know _Hungry like the Wolf_?"

"What?"

"Duran Duran, one of my favorites. Come on!"

"I'm not singing a song!" Clara laughed as the alarm finally turned off, Mac managing to do it while the Doctor went to examine the other hatches, only for a groaning noise to sound above them, "What was that?"

"It's just pressure, Clara," Mac reassured her, "It happens, being 700 meters down and all."

"Don't worry about it," the professor nodded, "Think of something else," he smiled and started to sing, "Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da I am hungry like the wolf…"

"I'm not singing!" Clara half snapped and half laughed.

"Don't you know it?"

"'Course I know it. We do it at karaoke. The odd hen night."

"Karaoke? Hen night?" the ma shook his head, "You speak excellent Russian, my dear, but sometimes I don't understand a word you're talking about."

They all stiffened when, instead of more groaning they heard a snarl, growls, and a pained scream from down the corridor. The Time Lords took off towards it, Clara and the professor behind them, racing around a corner and down another hall to an open door. They stopped short, their faces falling at the scene beyond, two bodies were lying on the ground, torn to pieces.

"Good God!" the professor gaped, "Torn apart. It's a monster. A savage!"

"No, Professor," the Doctor shook his head solemnly, "Not savage, forensic. Well, he's...dismantled them. Skaldak's learning. Learning all about you. Your strengths... Your weaknesses..." he pulled out the sonic and scanned for a trace of Skaldak, getting it, "Come on!" he took Mac's hand and dashed off, the humans following a moment later, leading them back to another corridor with an entrance before and behind them and a small set of steps to the left of them, "Stay here."

"Ok," Clara swallowed.

"Stay here! Don't argue," he headed for the ladder.

"I'm not!" Clara huffed.

He paused, realizing that, "Right…"

"Odd, isn't it?" Mac smiled, "When they DON'T wander off?" she glanced back at Clara and the professor before handing Clara the extinguisher and looking at the professor, "Keep each other safe ok?" she asked, seeing those bodies torn apart, she didn't want to leave the Doctor alone, if Skaldak learned how THEY worked…it would be all over.

"Understood," the professor nodded, saluting her slightly.

Mac gave him a grateful look and hurried after the Doctor, catching up with him at the end of a hall. They hurried down a few more, stopping when they saw another open room, another body inside it. There was a wallet on the ground and they could see a woman's picture and Stepashin's ID.

"Oh, Stepashin," the Doctor sighed, rubbing his face solemnly.

They looked up when they heard metal rattling and footsteps in the small rafters above them and turned to run off seeing Skaldak slithering quickly ahead of them, back the way they came and hurried faster. They made it back to where they'd left Clara just in time to see Skaldak reach down with two long, thin, reptilian arms and grab the professor's head.

"No, please, don't hurt him!" Clara pleaded, "Please!"

"You attacked me!" Skaldak hissed as Mac grabbed the extinguisher back, "Martian law decree's that the people of this planet are forfeit. I now have all the information I require. It will take only one missile to begin the process. To end this cold war."

"Grand Marshal, there is no need for this," the Doctor tried to reason, "Listen to me..."

"My distress call has not been answered. It will never be answered. My people are dead. They are dust. There is nothing left for me except my revenge."

"There is something left for you, Skaldak. Mercy."

"Mercy?"

"Oh bloody hell," Mac huffed as the captain rain in with another man, aiming a rifle up at Skaldak.

"You must wear that armor for a reason, my friend," the captain threatened, "Let's see, shall we?"

"Don't you dare blow holes in this ship captain!" Mac shoved the gun down, "Leave this to us!"

"I will do whatever it takes to defend my world," the man stated.

"Yes, great, fine, good," the Doctor held his hands up, "But we're getting somewhere here. We're negotiating, 'jaw-jaw not war-war.'"

"Churchill?" the professor guessed, oddly calm even with Skaldak still grabbing his head.

"Churchill," the Doctor pointed at him.

"Very well, we'll negotiate but from a position of strength," the captain tried to raise his gun again.

"Do that one more time," Mac shoved it back down, "And I will hit you round the head with this," she held up the extinguisher.

"It would appear," Skaldak sneered, "Your position is not, perhaps, as strong as you might hope!"

Before any of them could even react, Skaldak slithered past them and into his suit of armor that had made its way to the room behind them, dragging the chains that had bound it behind it.

"He summoned the armor," the Doctor breathed.

"No, did he?" Mac rolled her eyes, "I thought he built a new one."

"How did it do that?" Clara stared.

"Sonic tech, Clara," the Doctor answered, ignoring Mac's comment, "The song of the Ice Warrior!"

"Oi, don't!" Mac cried as the crewmen began to try and fire at Skaldak with their rifles, but the Martian just turned and walked away, not wasting his time on ending one life at a time.

"My world is dead but now there will be a second red planet!" he growled, "Red with the blood of humanity!"

"Skaldak!" the Doctor rushed after him, Mac right behind him, "Skaldak! Wait!" they tried to follow after the alien, but it seemed like half the crew were intent to just jump in front of them in their attempts to fire at the alien's back, forcing them to push their way through. They ran into the bridge moments after Skaldak connected himself to the controls and connected to them, "No! Skaldak! Wait! Wait! Wait!"

"He's arming the warheads!" the captain cried, seeing what controls the alien was at and quickly lifted his gun.

"If you fire that and miss, which you WILL," Mac shoved the gun down again, "You'll hit the controls and you'll end up firing them anyway!"

"Where is the honor in condemning billions of innocents to death?" the Doctor tried to reason still, "5,000 years ago Mars was the centre of a vast empire. The jewel of this solar system. The people of earth had only just begun to leave their caves. Five thousand years isn't such a long time, they're still just frightened children. Still primitive. Who are you to judge them?"

"I am Skaldak!" the warrior cried, spinning around to glare at the Doctor, "This planet is forfeit under Martian law."

"Then teach them!" he pleaded, "Teach them, Grand Marshal! Show them another way! Show them there is honor in mercy. Is this how you want history to remember you? Grand Marshal Skaldak, Destroyer of Earth?Because that's what you'll be if you send those missiles. Not a soldier, a murderer. Five billion lives extinguished."

Skaldak just grunted and turned around, reaching out for the launch button, "Do it and we'll stop you," Mac called, grabbing the Doctor's hand, knowing that they could NOT let this happen under any circumstances, "We're Time Lords, Skaldak, we use sonic tech too."

"A threat? You threaten me?"

"You and everyone on this ship," she nodded, "You so much as try to touch that button and we blow it up, you with us."

"You would sacrifice yourself?" he eyed her.

"For humanity, yes," she gripped the Doctor's hand tightly, they had no intentions of dying or blowing up the ship, but they needed Skaldak to think they would so the Doctor flicked the sonic, turning the tip from green to red.

"Mutually assured destruction!" he sneered.

"If you want to do it, then do it, but you look us in the eyes as you do it," Mac warned, "Have you ever stared directly into the eyes of the people you killed?"

Skaldak glared at her for her slight against his fortitude, "Well then," he lowered his helmet, revealing his reptilian face, "Which of us shall blink first?"

Clara swallowed hard and stepped up on Mac's other side, taking her hand too, providing a unified front as she spoke to Skaldak, "Why did you hesitate? Back there, in the dark. You were going to kill this man, remember?" she nodded at the professor, "I begged you not to and you listened. Why show compassion then, Skaldak, and not now? The Doctor and Mackenzie are right. Billions will die... Mothers, sons, fathers... daughters. Remember that last battle, Skaldak? Your daughter...you sang the songs..."

"Of the red snows…" Skaldak breathed, remembering.

Suddenly there was a crash around them and the sub started to shake violently, "What's happening?!" Clara gasped, clutching to Mac as she tried to keep balanced.

"My people live!" Skaldak realized, "They have come for me!"

"We're rising!" the captain called, looking at a gauge reading, "We're rising!"

"600 meters," the professor reported, "550..."

They waited only a few more moments before there was an even bigger shaking as the ship broke through the ice above it, "We've surfaced," the Doctor beamed, "Your people have saved us."

"Saved _me_, not you," Skaldak sneered.

Mac shook her head, "Then go to them Skaldak, and leave us be."

Skaldak didn't even hesitate to teleport out of there.

"We did it!" Clara cheered the moment Skaldak disappeared, "We did it!"

"Not quite yet," Mac frowned.

The Doctor ran to the controls, fiddling with them, but the red lights around the room were still on, "It's still armed. A single pulse from that ship..." he closed his eyes, "I don't…I can't…" he looked back at Mac, "If he sends the signal, we'd have to destroy the ship."

Mac moved over to him and took his hand, "Then we hope he won't," she murmured, squeezing it tightly, "We hope he shows mercy."

They all stood there, waiting to see what would happen, Clara shifting in nervousness before quietly singing, "Da-da-da-dah I'm lost and I'm found and I'm hungry like the wolf…"

A moment later a klaxon went off and the lights turned green, the torpedoes closing again, making them all breathe an enormous sigh of relief.

"Now we're safe," the Doctor grinned, hugging Mac tightly, only for Mac to pull Clara into the small group hug.

"Saved the world then?" Clara smiled.

"Yeah."

"That's what we do?"

"Oh yes," Mac grinned.

~8~

The time travelers, the professor, and the captain made their way onto the top deck of the sub, moving around to look at where they'd come up to see ice and snow all around them, snow drifting from the sky where a large Martian saucer was still hovering.

"The TARDIS!" Clara gasped at the sight of the other alien ship, "Where's the TARDIS? You never explained."

"Oh, well, don't worry about that," the Doctor tried to wave it off.

But Clara was having none of that, "Stop saying that! Where is it?"

"Yeah, well, I wasn't to know, was I?"

"Know what?"

"I've been tinkering... breaking her in. I'm allowed."

"He's really NOT," Mac gave him a look, "I do the tinkering dear, thank you," she sighed, "Last time you tinkered you snapped one of my paperclips and we lost power to the handbrake."

Clara sighed, "What did you do?"

"I reset the HADS!" he mumbled.

"Huh?"

"He reset the HADS," Mac repeated, "The Hostile Action Displacement System. Basically it sends the TARDIS off somewhere if she thinks she's under attack from the most random things."

"Like what?"

"Gunfire, time-winds, the sea," she gestured around at the frozen area around them, "Among other things. A result of his tinkering."

"Oh, Doctor," Clara sighed.

"Haven't used it in donkey's years," the Doctor defended, "Seemed like a good idea at the time. Well, never mind, it's bound to turn up somewhere!" he grinned as the sonic buzzed, "Oh! Ha, see, right on cue!" he pulled the screwdriver out and looked at the reading on it, "Brilliant!"

"Brilliant!"

"Not so brilliant," Mac shook her head, taking the sonic, "This says the TARDIS is at the Pole."

"Not far then," Clara smiled, "What's not so brilliant about that?"

"The SOUTH pole," Mac lightly whacked the Doctor on the shoulder with the sonic.

He just snatched it back and glanced at the captain, "Could we have a lift?" he asked the man, who merely laughed with Clara and turned to head in with the smiling professor, leaving the Time Lords standing there still. The Doctor mocked their laughter for a moment before Mac wound her arm through his and smiled at him, the two looking up at the Martian ship, giving it a salute and a wave as it flew off, taking Skaldak home. Hopefully he would find that his daughter, the poor dear, lived a long life and left him a large family to return to.

A/N: Sorry for the delay, this time it wasn't a glitch or me leaving the page too fast. I've had an exhausting last couple days and I legitimately thought I updated this with my OUAT story this morning before I fell back asleep. I spent most of the day with my brother, trying to cheer him up and talk to him, and just got back now and saw there was no update. -sigh- I hope you enjoy this chapter though :)

Some notes on reviews...

I read that too when I was researching Susan, I tend to not use much of any Prose sources mostly because I feel like a lot of it isn't really canon, I try and base it on the show more often than not :) But she could have regenerated yup, at first, when I saw 'Rose' I thought of Rose Tyler and then it got really disturbing because if Susan was his granddaughter and Rose Tyler was her that's some really disturbing incest there :/ But yup, again with the plagiarism :( -sigh- It was made worse because one wattpad user who had seen my post about the plagiarism commented on it on the plagiarizers page, and then sent me a screen shot of a message they got from the plagiarizer's apparent friend. The friend had the nerve and audacity to tell the helping-wattpad user that the plagiarizer committed suicide...but then the very next day after that message was sent, the plagiarizer tweeted on their twitter account, very much alive. They lied about something so serious as suicide to try and guilt the helping-wattpad user for just leaving a comment about the plagiarism on the plagiarizer's page :( It really disturbs me that some one would do something like that, something as serious as LIE about suicide :(

Yup, Clara is Mac's unnofficial companion :)


	15. Hide

Hide

Mac winced as another sound of thunder cracked in the background, her and Clara huddled under Clara's bright red umbrella, the Doctor standing before them as he knocked on the door of a rather large, ominous-looking house, a house made all the more so by the dark of the night around them. They'd come there for one of the two people they knew were inside, a psychic of sorts, someone they really just wanted to ask a question or two of. That was the plan at least, to pop in for a small investigation and pop out…

Mac could already tell from the house and the storm and what they knew was being investigated inside the house that the Doctor was going to want to stay and see what it was.

She was pulled from her thoughts when the Doctor grabbed her and Clara to the side as they heard someone approaching and put a finger to his lips, waiting…until the door was opened and he leapt out with a shout of, "Boo!" before grinning at the man in a tan coat and glasses standing inside with a timid-looking young woman with short brown hair behind him, "Hello, we're looking for a ghost."

Mac rolled her eyes, she knew him so well.

"And you are..." the man within, Alec Palmer they knew, asked.

"Ghostbusters!" Clara joined in, having closed her red umbrella.

Mac sighed and held up her ID, "Agent Mackenzie of UNIT," she told him, "My associates, the Doctor and Clara," she added.

"Doctor what?" Alec picked up on that.

"If you like," the Doctor grinned, draping an arm around Mac as they entered the house, seeing a large amount of equipment set up in the sitting room and ran for it, pulling her along, "Ah, but you are very different!" he grinned at the equipment, "You are Major Alec Palmer. Member of the Baker Street Irregulars, the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare," he stepped closer to Alec, whispering, "Specialized in espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance behind enemy lines. You're a talented water-colorist, professor of psychology AND...ghost hunter!" he shook his hand, "Total pleasure. Massive."

"He's a big fan," Mac offered the man, "I suspect he'd want to do the same if he retires, water coloring and searching for anomalies…"

"Um, actually, he's wrong," the young woman, Emma they knew, called, "Professor Palmer spent most of the war as a POW."

"He actually didn't," Mac told her gently, "UNIT," she gestured to herself, trying to give a believable reason for them being there, "Saw his file, saw a rather brave man keeping quite a few secrets," she eyed the woman, "But you knew he was lying though you didn't say anything, because you're Emma Grayling."

"Ooh yes," the Doctor smiled, walking over to give her two Gallic air kisses as Mac shook her head, having thought he'd gotten past that way of greeting, "The Professor's companion..."

"Assistant," Emma corrected.

"It's 1974, you're the assistant and 'non-objective equipment,'" he turned to look at Clara standing by some other rows of equipment, "Meaning 'psychic.'"

"Yeah, Mackenzie told me, remember?" Clara shook her head, moving to sit on the desk.

"Relax, Emma," Alec called, though he frowned at the trio, "What's UNIT investigating here for?"

"We detected an anomaly," Mac shrugged, picking up a few bits of this and that on a desk, "Couldn't be sure if it was an alien event or a mere ghostly apparition. So we were called in to verify."

"Well I can assure you it's purely a human occurrence," Alec stated, knowing what UNIT was.

"Well you're not quite an alien expert though," Mac countered, "Leave it to us. We just need to have a look about and then we'll be out of your hair."

"Oh!" the Doctor grinned starting to play with some of the equipment, "Oh, look! Oh, lovely. Kenzie look, it's the ACR 99821. Oh, bliss, nice action on the toggle switches. You know, I do love a toggle switch. Actually, I like the word 'toggle.' Nice noun. Excellent verb," he slapped Clara's hand away as she tried to touch the toggle, "Oi, don't mess with the settings."

"Same applies to you as well Doctor," Mac reminded him.

He pouted, but straightened, taking the sonic out of his pocket and flashing it around, especially at Emma and Alec, prompting the man to ask, "What's that?"

"Gadget," he grinned, "UNIT Classified, I'm afraid," he moved over to an archway to another room, the sonic beeping slightly more there, "You know, while the back room boffins work out a few kinks."

"What's it telling you?" Emma frowned, watching him as he stayed at the archway.

"It's telling me that you haven't been exposed to any life-threatening transmundane emanations."

Mac shook her head with a smile before she looked at Alec, "If you could tell us what you know of the supposed ghost, perhaps with any evidence that you've gathered of its existence, we just need a quick look and we should be able to head off and leave you to it."

"Yes," the Doctor grinned, picking up a lit candelabrum "Show us the ghost."

~8~

Alec was following the Doctor down the hall, the Doctor leading though he had no idea where he was going, while the three women followed, quite amused, behind them, watching as Alec continued to rant on about their presence, "I won't have this stolen out from under me, do you understand?"

"Erm, no, not really, sorry," the Doctor kept going.

But Alec reached out to stop him, "I will not have my work stolen, then be fobbed off with a pat on the back and a letter from the Queen. Never again! This is my house, Doctor, and it belongs to me."

"And we understand that," Mac nodded, "Not everyone is out to get you, you know."

"Hold on, this is actually your house?" Clara stared at him.

"It is," Alec straightened, a bit calmer.

"Sorry. You went to the bank and said, 'You know that gigantic old haunted house on the moors? The one the dossers are too scared to doss in? The one the birds are too scared to fly over?' And then you said, 'I'd like to buy it, please, with my money.'"

"Yes, I did, actually."

Clara nodded at that, smirking, "That's incredibly brave," she told him, before glancing behind her nervously as she heard a creaking noise. It really was rather brave of him.

"Listen, Major," the Doctor patted him on the shoulder, "We just need to know what's going on here."

"For UNIT?" Alec frowned.

"We just need to confirm the ghost isn't of alien origins and we'll leave you to your business," Mac nodded.

Alec sighed, "Very well. Follow me," before the turned and led the way off.

~8~

The small group gathered in a little parlor of the house where Alec had stored all his evidence of the ghost, pictures and clippings and facts all pinned to a board. Mac was standing by it, eyeing what was there as Alec pinned some new information to it, while the Doctor amused himself with taking photos of himself with an old camera behind her. Clara and Emma were off to the side, sitting on some chairs and just speaking quietly.

"So what's an empathic psychic?" she could hear Clara question.

"Sometimes I...sense feelings," Emma explained, "The way a telepath can sense thoughts. Sometimes, though. Not always."

"The most compassionate people you'll ever meet, empathics," the Doctor called, walking over, "And the loneliest. I mean, exposing themselves to all those hidden feelings, all that guilt, pain and sorrow and..."

"Doctor?" Mac called.

"Yes?" he looked at her but she gestured him over with a finger.

She leaned up and gave him a peck, "Stop talking."

"Yes," he nodded, grinning.

He knew that it was a tiny bit hypocritical of Mac, to do that, to kiss him to shut him up at times or to 'stop talking' as she would have often motioned. She had an enormous issue with him physically stopping her talking by putting his finger to her lips or covering her mouth, largely because it was something her husband had often done in public, shut her up because he thought she was 'making a fool of herself' or because he didn't want her talking to others and a few other reasons. Yet here she was, physically stopping him talking at times with a kiss. HE didn't mind it at all, he'd actually been the one to suggest he'd rather her do that than make her little 'stop talking' motion. And really, everyone was a tiny bit hypocritical in some area of their life, no one was perfect.

Perfect was boring.

"Would you, er, care to have a look?" Alec called, interrupting the moment and cutting through the awkwardness that had settled upon Emma when the Doctor started talking about all the negative emotions that came with her abilities. He waited till the four of them had walked over to the board before starting to explain it, "Caliburn House is over 400 years old but she's been here much longer..." he pointed to an image of her, a white hazy image that appeared to be someone reaching out a hand, an arm up, "The Caliburn Ghast. She's mentioned in local Saxon poetry and Parish folk tales. The Wraith of the Lady, the Maiden in the Dark... the Witch of the Well."

"Is she real?" Clara wondered, "As in, actually real?"

"Oh, she's real. In the 17th century, a local clergyman saw her. He wrote that her presence was accompanied by a, 'dreadful knocking, as if the Devil himself demanded entry.' During the war, American airmen stationed here left offerings of tinned Spam. The tins were found in 1965, bricked up in the servants' pantry, along with a number of handwritten notes. Appeals to the Ghast, 'For the love of God, stop screaming.'"

"She never changes," Clara noted, seeing the images all appeared the same just in different rooms and with different people, "The angle's different, the framing, but she's always in exactly the same position. Why is that?"

Mac frowned and pulled out her penlight, holding it up to get a closer look at the images, not willing to grab one of the candelabrums and set the board alight.

"We don't know. She's an objective phenomenon. But objective recording equipment can't detect her..."

"Without the presence of a powerful psychic," the Doctor nodded, guessing that was why Emma was there.

"Absolutely. Very well done."

"She knows I'm here..." Emma breathed, staring at the pictures even as the four of them turned to her, "I can feel her...calling out to me."

"Calling what?" Mac asked gently.

"Help me."

Mac glanced at Clara when she suddenly turned, as though hearing something, but there was nothing there, so she looked at Alec once more, "Why do they call her the 'Witch of the Well?'" she shook her head, "I don't recall seeing a well…" she'd looked up the schematics of the house earlier, in case they had to enter the house and try to find the others.

"A copy of the oldest plan that we could find," Alec led her and the Doctor over to blueprints, "You're right though, there is no well on the property. None that we could find, anyway."

"Hmm…" the Doctor hummed a moment, before grinning and looking at Mac hopefully.

She rolled her eyes, "Oh alright," she smiled.

He beamed and gave her a quick kiss before he hurried over to Clara, still looking at the photos, and tapped her on the head, startling her and making her spin around as he whispered, "You coming?"

"Where?" Clara whispered back.

Mac shook her head as they continued to whisper, not quite sure why they were, they were quite easy to hear being the one of the few in the room, "To find the ghost."

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Because you want to, come on," he turned and took Mac's hand, heading for the door.

"Well, I dispute that assertion," Clara whisper-hissed, making the Doctor pause and turn.

He glanced at Emma, seeing her watching them and tried to jerk his head back in a secret motion for Clara, "I'm giving you a face," he kept whispering, "Can you see me? Look at my face."

"You do realize you don't have to whisper?" Mac whispered to them, amused now, "They CAN hear you."

Emma nodded when the Doctor and Clara glanced at her, "We can."

"Oh," Clara gave her a sheepish look before turning to the Doctor and Mac, "Dare me."

"I'm not going to dare you Clara," Mac shook her head, "I will never make you do anything you don't want to," she added, "If you want to stay here, that's fine, the Doctor and I can go and…"

"No, no," Clara took a breath, "I'll go," she nodded, "I'd rather be with you two, especially you Mackenzie," she smiled, "You're my pilot after all."

Mac smiled at that, "Well alright then."

The Doctor clapped his hands, pleased and turned to head out when Emma called a suggestion out to them, "The Music Room is the heart of the house."

"Thank you," Mac smiled at her, taking the Doctor's hand as they stepped out of the room.

"Say we actually find her," Clara began, "What do we say?"

"What happened to her," Mac suggested, "How it happened…"

"Why?" Clara frowned at that, thinking it might be quite a personal question for a ghost.

"Because we don't really know," the Doctor sighed, "And ignorance is...what's the opposite of bliss?"

"Carlisle," Clara said promptly.

Mac laughed at that, "Fitting."

"Yes!" the Doctor grinned, "Yes, Carlisle. Ignorance is Carlisle."

~8~

They'd passed through quite a few rooms on the way to the music room, an old study, a disused kitchen…which had confused Mac quite a bit. If this was Alec's house and they probably at least stayed there over night, they should have a proper working kitchen at least. But that was not the main concern for the evening, no, the music room was proving to be quite the center of attention. The Time Lords could feel something off the moment they entered the darkened room. It was empty, for the most part, a harp to the side, a few music stands around, some other instruments covered in a white cloth, it was all really spooky, at least to Clara, with the dust settling everywhere and rising into the air when they walked through it.

The Doctor pulled out his sonic and scanned around, while Mac grabbed a thermometer from her pocket, knowing ghosts usually left cold spots here and there, she also kicked the dust up as she went, if there was some sort of presence (especially alien) the dust might gather on it.

"The Music Room," the Doctor muttered, "The heart of the house. Do you feel anything?"

"No," Clara said quickly.

"You don't have to lie Clara," Mac gave her a reassuring smile, "It's ok to be scared or upset about something."

"Right," Clara nodded, "Then um…do you feel like you're being watched?"

The Doctor fiddled with the sonic, bashing it against his hands as it stopped working properly, making Mac walk over, also aware that ghosts tended to affect instruments of the sort as well, "What does being watched feel like? Is it that funny tickly feeling on your neck?"

"That's the chap."

"Then, yes, a bit. Well, quite a big bit."

"I don't really feel anything," Mac shrugged, though she couldn't be certain. A good portion of her time in UNIT, given her temperament, had been her working away while others stared at her so she might just be used to that. She stepped away, heading around the room once more only to stop near a door on the other end of the room, "Doctor…" she called, looking more at the thermometer in her hand, the temperature slowly going down, also allowing her to see her breath as she called out.

The Doctor spotted it as well and hurried over, breathing out excessively to test the air before them and behind.

"I think she's here," Clara frowned, feeling a sort of presence.

"Cold spot," the Doctor murmured, "Spooky," before he started turning around and stepping this way and that to test how far it extended, "Cold, warm, cold, warm, cold, warm, cold, warm, cold…"

Mac reached out and stopped him, standing in the middle of the cold spot herself, the temperature on the thermometer still dropping, and pulled a piece of chalk from her pocket, crouching down to draw a circle around her so they'd know where the spot was.

"Doctor?" Clara called, "Mackenzie?"

"Yes?" Mac stood, the Doctor helping her up.

"You said I could tell you anything?"

"Yes," the Doctor nodded.

"I'm not happy," Clara stated.

Mac smiled, "It's ok, come on," she gestured Clara over with her hand and patted her on the back as she led them out of the room, the Doctor right behind them.

They had only just gotten to the end of the hall though, reached a set of large windows, when they heard a thudding noise, "What was that?" Clara breathed, hearing two more thuds.

They exhaled, seeing that all three of their breaths were visible, Mac checking the thermometer to see the temperature that had started to rise when they left the room was dropping again, "Temperature's still dropping," Mac murmured, glancing to the side to see frost had started to seep across the windows.

Clara winced, hearing another thud, "Ok, what is that?"

"It's a very loud noise," the Doctor surmised, "It's a very loud, very angry noise."

"No really?" Mac rolled her eyes, "You should have been the Captain instead of the Doctor."

"The Captain?"

"Captain Obvious," Mac shot him a look.

"Yes," Clara agreed, "Cos we all hear the noise, we know what it is…but what's making it?!"

"I don't know," the Doctor glanced at her, "Are you making it?"

"No dear," Mac sighed, "None of us are."

Another thud had the Doctor jumping back to Mac's right side, Clara on her left, "Um…Mackenzie," Clara began.

"Yes?" she glanced at Clara.

"I may be a teeny, tiny bit terrified."

"Ok."

"But I'm still a grown-up."

"Ok?" Mac started to frown now.

"There's no need to actually hold my hand."

Mac blinked, "Clara…I've got the Doctor's hand in my right, and my penlight in my left…"

Clara blinked and looked down to see Mac's hand did indeed have the penlight in it before she screamed and leapt away from the door, the three of them backing up, seeing some sort of skittering creature crouched down and deformed when lightning struck and illuminated the hall for a brief moment.

The Doctor pulled Mac away, Mac grabbing Clara's arm as they ran down the hall, heading for the stairs at the end of it, into the sitting room where they could see Alec and Emma were…but they weren't alone, there, in front of them, was a sort of dark dish, a flat dish that was spinning around and around, whirling in midair.

The Doctor whipped out the sonic and tried to scan it as they ran up, "Has this happened before?"

"Never!"

"Give me the camera!" Mac grabbed it out of Alec's stunned hands and started to take pictures of it while the Doctor scanned.

The dish began to spin faster and faster till it cracked and Emma gasped. They looked over to see her staring through a doorway where a faint image had appeared of the woods, of a woman in white standing there, an echo of a scream sounding around them.

"Help Me!" the scream echoed moments before Emma collapsed and the dish started to slow and fade.

"Look!" Clara gasped and they spun around to see 'Help Me' had been written on the wall just up the stairs before it too faded with the dish.

~8~

Mac, Clara, and the Doctor, were huddled under, Clara's red umbrella as they dashed out into the pouring rain in an effort to get to the TARDIS. It had been quiet in the house, for all of 5 minutes it felt. Clara had gone to check on Emma, the Doctor looking at the developing photos with Alec, while she had remained in the hall, looking out the window at the rain, at the TARDIS, trying to think of what it could be, what that dish was. They now knew that it was likely alien in nature, which meant they had to remain there and keep the ruse of being with UNIT still up. The Doctor had gotten an idea though, and that was why they were rushing out to the TARDIS.

"I've got this weird feeling it's looking at me," Clara murmured as they paused a few feet away and just stared at the box sitting in the rain, "It doesn't like me."

"It's because you're not a recognized companion," Mac told her softly, "She can't accept you fully because of that, sorry," she offered Clara an apologetic smile, "You could always be the Doctor's companion Clara, it's not too late and…"

"Nah," Clara linked her arm through Mac's, "I can take a bit of an iffy box. Besides it's not like she hates me, she just can't accept me entirely. And that's ok, cos it means I'm at least partially accepted yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Come on," the Doctor smiled at them. It was a little funny, at first he'd wanted Clara to be his companion, just a sort of residual from having been on his own for centuries on end, with just HIM having companions and a sort of thought in the back of his head that ONLY he could have an official companion. He'd taken on Amy and Rory without even really thinking about if Mac might want one in the future. It was just so commonplace, the Doctor and his companion in the TARDIS, but he was actually rather glad that Clara was insisting to be Mac's companion despite the fact she wasn't official in that capacity.

Mac could do with a companion of her own, even if it was unofficially.

He took Mac's hand and the three of them hurried to the TARDIS, Mac unlocking it with her key to allow the three of them inside. The Time Lords ran over to the console as Clara tried to put the umbrella away.

"You need a place to keep this," Clara called.

"We've got one," the Doctor pointed, before realizing that the umbrella stand was gone, "Or we had one...I think we had one…" he headed over to try and see if he could spot it, "Look around, see if you find it. Did I have one? Am I going mad?" he turned to Mac just as Clara started to shake out the umbrella instead, "No, not in here!" he snatched it from her, "She's SOAKING wet! It's a health and safety nightmare," he turned and carried the umbrella over to a chair by the console, setting it down and going to help Mac prepare.

"Sorry," Clara whispered up to the TARDIS as she joined them, "So... where we going?"

"Not where exactly," Mac smiled, "We'll be staying right here in place."

"Ok, so when are we going?" Clara amended.

The Doctor laughed, "We're going always," he turned and headed down a set of steps to the underconsole.

"We're going always?" Clara gave Mac a look for that.

"Totally!" his voice drifted up to them.

Mac shook her head, "We're going to stop at different points in time," Mac told her, "Quite a few of them."

"Gotcha," Clara nodded.

"What do you think?" the Doctor grinned as he made his way back up to them, holding one of the orange spacesuits he and Mac had worn to Mars, holding it up to his body and spinning around.

"Color's a bit boisterous," Clara said.

"I think it brings out my eyes," he pouted.

"Makes my eyes hurt."

He stuck out his tongue at Clara and turned to Mac, "What about you dear?"

"Bit retro," Mac laughed, even though the suit was years ahead of its time considering when they'd landed.

He rolled his eyes and just turned to start putting on the suit while she piloted the TARDIS to their first time period.

~8~

They'd cone to quite a few different moments in history, the beginning of the earth, right to the last few days of it, with prehistoric jungles between and the Victorian era as well. Mac had remained in the TARDIS, piloting them away as the Doctor was the one to go out and take pictures for the most part. She'd noticed something though, Clara growing a little more despondent as time literally went on around her.

"Clara?" she called out, moving to her side and putting a hand on Clara's shoulder as the Doctor entered, "What's wrong?"

"Did the TARDIS say something to her?" the Doctor asked as he made his way up, pulling his helmet off, "Are you being mean?" he called up to the rotor, lightly slapping the console.

Clara gave them both a sad smile, "Have we just watched the entire life cycle of the Earth? Birth to death?"

"We have," Mac nodded at the same time the Doctor gave a bit of a too-cheerful, "Yes!"

"And you're ok with that?" she frowned.

"Yes?" the Doctor asked, more unsure now.

"How can you be?"

"The TARDIS. She's...time. We...wibbly vortex and so on…"

"It's how we're raised Clara," Mac offered, "It's how we're taught. We see time moving around us, what is and what cannot be, what might be and what was…it's just…how we see the world."

"That's not what I mean," Clara sighed, trying to find the words to express it, "I mean, one minute you're in 1974, looking for ghosts but all you have to do is open your eyes and talk to whoever's standing there. To both of you, I haven't been born yet...and to you, in the same breath, I've been dead 100 billion years. Is my body out there somewhere? In the ground?"

"In a way," Mac nodded.

"But here we are, talking. So I am a ghost. To you, I'm a ghost...we're all ghosts to you. We must be nothing."

"No," the Doctor shook his head, "No... you're not that."

"Then what are we?" Clara asked as he headed back towards the underconsole, "What can we possibly be?"

The Doctor offered her a small smile, "You are the only mystery worth solving."

"And that's not even the tip of the iceberg Clara," Mac added as the Doctor disappeared to change out of the suit, "Because that's not what time is either. Yes, there's a beginning and an end, a birth and a death, but what truly is important is the time between then and everything that fills it. We saw the beginning and end of the Earth but every single moment that happened on it is what makes that life so incredible. Just like everything that has ever happened and will ever happen in your life is what will make it extraordinary," she squeezed Clara's shoulder, "Don't think if it as a beginning and an end so much as appreciate the journey between the two points."

Clara smiled at that, "Thanks."

~8~

"Right!" the Doctor cheered as he set up in the parlor with Emma and Alec there, Mac helping him get the slides he'd converted from the photos he'd taken into the projector while Clara and Emma quietly talked, "Done! That's it, gather round, gather round. Roll up! Roll up!" he waited till they were all around him before he flashed the sonic on the projector, showing some images that Alec had taken of the ghost, "The Ghast of Caliburn House, never changing, trapped in a moment of fear and torment but what if she's not? What if she's just trapped somewhere time runs more slowly than it does here? What if a second to her was 100,000 years to us? And what if somebody has a magic box, a blue box, probably," he grinned even as Mac rolled her eyes, she had a smile on her face, "What if said somebody could take a snapshot of her, say, every few million years?" the images started to shift to the ones the Doctor had taken, revealing a woman, dressed in an advanced white spacesuit, running towards them image by image, "She's not a ghost...but she's definitely a lost soul," he flicked the sonic to a more portraited picture of the woman, posing for the camera with a small helmet tucked under her arm, "Her name's Hila Tacorian. She's a pioneer, a time traveler, or at least she will be, in a few hundred years."

Alec shook his head, "Time travel's not possible. The paradoxes..."

"Would resolve themselves, eventually," Mac offered, "UNIT's theorized about it for many years."

"How long has she been alone?" Emma wondered, staring at the image of Hila.

Mac smiled at her concern, she'd fretted about that as well when she saw the photos developing in the TARDIS, "For her, it's only been minutes," Mac reassured her.

"Yes," the Doctor nodded, "She crash landed 3 minutes ago."

"Crash landed?" Emma turned to them, "Where?"

"A pocket universe," Mac told her.

"A distorted echo of our own," the Doctor elaborated, "They happen sometimes but never last for long," he held up a finger to wait a moment before he pulled two balloons from his pocket and blew them up, "Our universe," he held the right one up, "Hila Tacorian's here," and the left, "In a pocket universe. You're a lantern, shining across the dimensions, guiding her home. Back to the land of the living," he touched the balloons together before letting them go and deflate.

"But what's she running from?" Clara frowned, the images of Hila from before, they were clearly of her being chased, she was looking back in one as though trying to make sure whatever it was hadn't caught up to her.

"Well, that's the best bit," the Doctor grinned.

"Depending on your perspective," Mac added.

"We don't know yet. Shall we see?" he flashed the sonic on the slide once more and it changed to a rather…odd creature in the shadows. It was like a deformed human, skeleton like, its face melting, crouched down with a bottom half made for scuttling, making everyone in the room ill at ease to see, "Oh."

"What is that?" Clara blanched.

"I don't know," the Doctor murmured, "Still," he clapped his hands, "Not to worry!"

Emma shook her head from her thoughts and turned to the Time Lords, "So, what do we do?"

"That's the problem," Mac sighed, looking at Emma in concern, "WE can't do anything, not…not without you," she gave Emma a pointed look, "Hila's presence is only strong here when YOU are here too Emma, stronger than when any other empathic psychic tried before," she sighed, "We would need to home your focus on her, magnify it, to help lead Hila back."

Emma nodded, "We need to help her."

Mac smiled as the Doctor moved beside her to drape his arm around her shoulders, "Then we'll need some sturdy rope and a blue crystal from Metebelis Three. Plus, some Kendal Mint Cake."

Mac rolled her eyes at him but let him guide her out of the room with Clara to collect their needed objects.

~8~

It had been rather easy to find all the items need actually, the TARDIS had it all, even the crystal from Metebelis Three, which had led to a long tale of the Doctor as to how they'd gotten a hold of it. They'd explained to Clara, after she'd asked why they couldn't just take the TARDIS there to get Hila, that because it was a pocket Universe and not a parallel one, and that it was collapsing, it would be dangerous for the TARDIS to go there. They could get in easily, but the entropy would drain the power to the box and trap them all there till the pocket universe decayed and disappeared.

Now though, they were gathered in the music room, wires everywhere, clocks on every available surface, ticking away. There was a small tripod in the middle of the room with a small, white oval on it, softly glowing from the inside, something Mac reached out to pull Clara's hand away from when she reached out to touch it, "Best not," she smiled at the human.

"What is it?" Clara stared at it, it was lovely.

"A subset of the Eye of Harmony."

"And that is…"

"Something that would take a bit too long to explain right now, I'm afraid," Mac offered an apologetic smile, "I'll tell you all about it when this is over though."

"Right!" the Doctor cheered, heading over to Emma and helping her sit onto an armchair set up just before the subset, "You, sit down," he reached out and put a small wire crown that had the blue crystal set in the middle of it onto her head, "All the way... from Metebelis Three," he smiled before turning to sonic the clocks around the room, making sure they were all hooked up.

"What does it do?" Emma frowned, straightening the crown on her head.

"It amplifies your natural abilities, like a microphone. Or a pooper-scooper!"

"Don't ask," Mac murmured to Clara when she turned a questioning look on her for the last one.

"What exactly is this arrangement?" Alec asked, standing beside Emma, the concern for her evident on his face.

"It's a psychochronograph," Mac told him, moving to the Doctor's side and helping him into a harness of sorts.

"Forgive me, but isn't it all a bit, well...make-do and mend?"

"My specialty," Mac smiled, "We can't use non-psychic technology so it has to be all…Lammasteen," she winked at the Doctor as he grinned at her.

"It'll be fine though," he waved off the man's concern, "All I need to do is dive into another dimension, find the traveler, help her escape the monster, get home before the entire dimension collapses and Bob's your uncle."

"Doctor?" Emma called, making them turn to her, "Will it hurt?"

Mac sighed and moved over to kneel beside Emma, resting a hand on her head, "It may hurt, quite a bit," she warned, "But I'll be right here," she took Emma's hand, "You can squeeze as tightly as you want."

Emma swallowed hard but took a deep breath, preparing herself, "I'm talking to the lost soul that abides in this place. I'm speaking to Hila Tacorian…"

Mac squeezed Emma's hand and glanced over at the Doctor as Clara helped him finish, picking up the end of the rope and clamping it to his harness. The clocks around the room started to go haywire, going backwards and forwards and ticking in the same second. She looked back when Emma's hand squeezed her own again as an electronic whizzing noise sounded, Emma gasping as the disc appeared at the end of the room, over the chalk circle. It spun faster and faster till it shattered and a bright light and strong wind appeared in the doorway, creating a porta.

"See?" the Doctor grinned at them, Clara stumbling back, "The Witch of the Well! It's a wormhole! A reality well! A door to the echo universe!"

Mac turned to Emma, "Are you ready?"

"READY!" Emma cried out.

The Doctor looked at Mac and sent her a wink before he turned to the wormhole and cracked his neck, "Geronimo!" he shouted, jumping through it.

"Doctor!" Clara shouted, Alec holding Clara back as they squinted and held their hands up against the light.

"Doctor!" Emma closed her eyes, concentrating as hard as she could, "DOCTOR... come home! Doctor, we're here!" Mac put her other hand on Emma's, the woman squeezing her Time Lady's hand so tight her knuckles were turning white, "Doctor! Doctor! I'm not strong enough!"

"Just a few more seconds!" Clara cried out.

But Emma couldn't hold on, she tried, so hard, held on for a few more minutes, before she let out a scream as the light flashed in the wormhole, the winch moving. Alec rushed over and winched it in, Hila falling out of it with a cry.

"You can do it Emma," Mac tried to urge her, knowing that the Doctor would be coming any moment…

But it was too much.

Emma let out another scream before she fell from the chair to her knees, the wire crown falling off her head as the portal shimmered and disappeared.

"No!" Clara yelled, Alec rushing to Emma's side as Mac tried to help her up. Clara ran to the doorway, but the portal was gone, completely gone, and spun around as the cloister bell of the TARDIS was able to be heard even from there.

"Emma?" Mac tried to gently rouse the woman who had fallen unconscious, "Emma, sweetie, wake up…"

"Open the thing!" Clara rushed over, seeming about ready to shake the woman wake.

"Clara," Mac sent her a look, telling her to calm a moment, before she turned back to Emma, "Emma, it's ok…it's alright…"

"I'm sorry," Emma started to cry, "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Alec soothed her, cradling her in his arms, "Don't be. What you did..."

"It wasn't enough," Clara tried to calm herself, "She needs to do it again."

"No, she doesn't," Mac shook her head, "Clara, with me," she took Clara's hand and rushed out of the room, leading her through the house and to the TARDIS outside, the rain having stopped. She fumbled with getting the key into the lock as Clara tried to force the other door open.

"Oh, come ON!" Clara huffed, "It's an emergency! Let us in you grumpy old cow!"

"Clara!" Mac gaped at her a moment, before reaching out and hugging her tightly, "Take a breath, it WILL be fine."

"But…the Doctor…" Clara sniffled, not having expected this, not having expected one of her two new friends to just disappear like that, to be trapped in Hila's place.

"Will be fine," she pulled away, "Trust me, sweetie, he's got loads of experience surviving, and we've got the TARDIS," she held up the key, "We'll go get him."

"But…what about that…that entropy thing?"

"So long as we're quick, we'll be fine," she reassured her, turning to open the doors and pull Clara in, up to the console, "Ok…" Clara looked at Mac as she began to mumble, rushing around the console, "I can do this, I can do this…"

"What?" Clara began when Mac pulled a lever and sent them off, "What's wrong?" she asked, gripping the console tightly as it shook and jolted around everywhere, "What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing," Mac huffed, "On a good day it takes 6 to pilot her right," she shouted over the grinding and sparking going on, "And um…I'm not exactly good under stress!"

"What?!" Clara gasped as she was thrown back onto a small side seat in the side controls.

"I'm not good under stress!" Mac repeated, wincing as she tried to remember what to do. She was fine with short trips, calm trips, but pressure and a TARDIS made her fumble about, all the rushing and needing to be 6 pilots for 1 person…it was a bit much, "Hold on!" she shouted, moving to the monitor, nearly letting out a breath as they flew out of the Vortex and into the pocket Universe, seeing the Doctor, but with the creature looming over him. She reached out and twisted a knob, nearly falling to the side as the TARDIS jolted and twisted in that direction, knocking the creature backwards and just barely skimming over the top of the Doctor.

She pulled herself back up and looked at the monitor to see the Doctor motioning for the TARDIS to swing back around, "Stupid old Doctor," she muttered, pulling a lever and sending the TARDIS down once more, the Doctor grabbing it as it passed, before she quickly piloted the TARDIS back to the music room of the Caliburn house.

She ran for the doors, momentarily forgetting Clara still on the seat, and threw them open, turning to the side Just as the Doctor stumbled before her from where he'd been grabbing onto the TARDIS, and hugged him tightly, breathing a sigh of relief when he hugged her back just as tight, well and alive and there.

~8~

Mac stood outside the house, walking with Clara and Alec, Hila as well, when she looked up to see the Doctor and Emma step out of the house. She knew that the Doctor had wanted to ask Emma about Clara, if she could sense something off of the girl, explain what she was, and she'd volunteered to distract Clara for the moment. But, judging by the look on the Doctor's face, he hadn't gotten the answers he'd wanted. She offered him a smile as he came to her side and put his arm around her waist, Emma moving over to Hila to speak with her quietly as Alec moved more towards the TARDIS, staring at it.

"Where will you go?" Emma asked Hila after she gave her a hug.

"They can't take me home," Hila shrugged, "History says I went missing."

"But they can change history."

"Not exactly," Mac shook her head.

"Yes," the Doctor agreed, "There are fixed points in time you see...and…oh, never mind," he shook his head, waving it off when Emma gave him an amused look, as though guessing he was about to ramble something about it.

Hila chuckled and glanced at Emma, "I knew you were there... I could feel you."

"I know," Emma eyed her.

"Have we..."

"We can't have. You haven't even been born yet."

"No, you can't have met," the Doctor agreed, "But she can be your great- great-great-great-great-granddaughter. Yours too, of course!" he smiled at Alec, "But you'd guessed that already, hadn't you?"

"Going on their expressions," Mac stepped over to his side, "I don't think so."

"Ooh," the Doctor nodded, seeing the shocked expressions on all three of their faces.

"The paradoxes..." Alec tried to argue.

"Resolve themselves, as Kenzie said," the Doctor nodded, "That's why the psychic link was so powerful, blood calling to blood. Out of time."

"Nothing is stronger than family," Mac smiled, squeezing the Doctor round the middle.

"Not everything ends, eh?" the Doctor agreed, "Not love. Not always," before he turned to lead Mac and Clara to the TARDIS.

"Doctor," Alec rushed over, "What about, what about...us? Emma and me?"

"What about you?" Mac shook her head.

"Well, what's supposed to happen? I mean, what do we do now?"

Mac smiled as Emma walked over to Alec, standing beside him just as she was beside the Doctor, "Stand together?" she offered, "Just…let what happens happen."

"Yes, hold hands," the Doctor took Mac's hand, holding it up to them, "That's what you're meant to do. Keep doing that and don't let go. That's the sec…ret…" he trailed off his eyes widening before he slapped himself in the head, realizing something, "I'm so... slow!" he quickly pulled Mac off, Clara rushing after them to the side where they could see the house, "I am slow, I'm notorious for it, that's always been my problem, but I get there in the end. Oh, yes…"

"What is it?" Clara shook her head, not understanding, even Mac seemed a bit confused.

"How do sharks make babies?" he turned to them.

"Carefully?"

"No, no, no, happily!"

"Sharks don't actually smile. They're just...well, they've got lots and lots of teeth, they're quite eaty."

"Exactly! But birds do it, bees do it, even educated FLEAS do it. Every lonely monster needs a companion."

"Your hand!" Mac realized then, pointing at Clara, "You felt something holding your hand IN the hall, but the creature…he was only in the pocket universe!"

They looked up at the house, to a window, now able to see a second creature in it, staring down at them.

"There's two of them?!" Clara stared in awe.

"It's the oldest story in the universe," the Doctor chuckled, "This one, or any other. Boy and girl fall in love," he smiled at Mac, pressing a kiss to her hair, "Get separated by events, war, politics, accidents in time. She's thrown out of the HEX, or he's thrown into it. Since then they've been yearning for each other across time and space, across dimensions, this isn't a ghost story."

"It's a modern, alien Romeo and Juliet," Mac laughed.

"Yes," the Doctor grinned, before turning and rushing back to Emma, "Excuse me! Excuse me! Sorry to interrupt the rest of your life. So... tiny favor to ask..."

~8~

Mac stumbled a moment as she quickly got out of the harness, now in the pocket universe. She'd had to plead with the Doctor to agree to this, but she'd just explained she'd barely been able to get the TARDIS there in the first place and he did have quite a bit more experience than her operating it by himself and in dangerous situations. She trusted him to get her out of there. She quickly ran forward to the clearing she'd seen when she'd gone to knock the creature off of the Doctor, "Hello?" she called, "Hello, if you're out there, come here! We can take you back to the other one!" she wasn't going to use him or her as she didn't quite know the sex of the creature or its orientation, "And we can help you get home too, both of you! Hello?" she tensed, hearing a snarling behind her and turned slowly, trying not to grimace at seeing the creature up close, its neck twisted and face seeming almost decomposing and melting at once, "Hello…um, just…one mo," she smile-grimaced, and looked up as a wheezing sounded, smiling truly when she saw the TARDIS flying down, "Be ready to jump and hold on tight," she warned it before doing just that as the TARDIS passed, taking her and the creature back to their universe.

A/N: I apologize for the lack of chapters the last few days :( On Tuesday night I got really sick and it wasn't till I got to the hospital and they ran tests that they found out it was a severe case of food poisoning and dehydration :( I was released on Thursday and I tried to get some chapters edited but it just didn't happen :( At some point when I tried, I actually fell asleep sitting up in bed with my sister's laptop (which my family then delighted taking pictures of -sigh-). I finally started feeling better today and I just couldn't go any longer without updating :)

Some notes on reviews...

Clara just might become Mac's official companion one day ;)

Mac will definitely try to be a pilot after the 50th, we'll have to see if they can get close enough to Gallifrey to do it ;)

Awww thanks! I'm very honored to receive the BattleOfDuty Gold Chapter awards, thank you :')

I apologize for the no updates :( I've been a mess of feeling sick and hospitals and such, blah, but I'm feeling better now lol :)

And I want to wish a VERY happy birthday to Sarah310592! I hope your day is truly fantastic :)


	16. Journey to the Center of the TARDIS

Journey to the Center of the TARDIS

Mac smiled as she watched the Doctor follow Clara around the console, trying to talk to her about some interesting fact he'd learned just moments ago regarding a certain unofficial companion and a certain farm animal that she'd called the TARDIS. She would have stopped him, probably should have stopped him as they'd been walking around the console about ten times so far, but she couldn't. Every time he passed her he gave her a little kiss and who was she to deny him that, especially when they both were rather fond of it.

"You said..." he began again.

"I know what I said," Clara huffed, "I was the one who said it. And Mackenzie knows what I said, she was the one who told you," she gave Mac a playful glare for it.

They'd landed on a farm in 1920, some sort of odd time anomaly…and found a girl that had been sent there by Weeping Angels, who knew Sally Sparrow. They weren't quite sure why they were JUST getting an indication about it now, but then when they landed in the middle of a cow gathering, the intent of the TARDIS became clear, especially when Mac accidently let it slip that 'See Clara? The TARDIS looks nothing like a cow,' and the Doctor just rounded on them with wide eyes and questions.

"You said it was looking at you funny," the Doctor pointed out, kissing Mac on the temple as he passed her.

"I was tired," Clara rolled her eyes, "Overwrought. I didn't mean it. It's an appliance. It does a job."

"Appliance is almost worse than cow, Clara," Mac shook her head with a small smile.

"And either way, it's a pretty cool appliance," the Doctor defended, tapping the console lightly, "We're not talking cheese grater here!"

"You're not getting me to talk to your ship," Clara kept on, "That's properly bonkers."

"Madman with a box, right there," Mac pointed at the Doctor as he neared her again, "He's already bonkers."

He grinned at that and just kissed her cheek, passing her.

"You're like one of those guys who can't go out with a girl unless his mother approves."

"Or my Chosen approves," the Doctor agreed whole heartedly, he'd worked far too hard to get him and Mac to this point, to the point where they were actual and real Chosens to muck it up by hanging around someone she didn't like. It was another reason he was so happy Clara had picked Mac as her pilot, even if it was in an unofficial capacity, he just wanted her to have a companion and because he felt like it showed that they were safe, that Clara respected and treasured the friendship she had with Mac and understood the relationship he had with Mac as well, "It's important to me you all get along. Oh, I know, Kenzie and I could leave you alone together."

"Now you're creeping me out," Clara chuckled.

"How about a piloting lesson instead?" Mac offered, "Even though I'm not an official pilot, it helps to build a relationship with the TARDIS if you help control her flight. We could teach you some basics if you'd like."

Clara smiled, "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Right then," the Doctor clapped, excited, "We'll make it easy too, shut it down to basic mode for you," he moved to kiss Mac once more, this time on the lips, as he passed her to get to his side of the console, the two of them starting to work on some switches.

"Basic!" Clara cried, mock-offended, "'Cos I'm a girl? Or cos I'm human?"

"Well since I'm a girl," Mac laughed, "I'd go with human."

Clara rolled her eyes but moved over to Mac's side to watch as the Doctor turned a key to set it down to basic for them before joining them on Mac's other side.

~8~

The lesson was going well, Clara was intent and focused and picking up their instructions remarkably well. They could really tell that this wasn't just about learning how to fly a machine, but really her trying to build a relationship with the box they lived in. And that meant more to them than just giving her a flying lesson. They knew that the TARDIS was struggling to accept Clara, there were certain privileges that companions had, being under the protection of a designated pilot that Clara wouldn't be able to have. It was difficult for the box to open her doors for the girl without them there, even if they gave her a key. Perhaps in a few more months the box would be able to open for her, but till then they had to be with her. There were protections that the box afforded companions that Clara was missing and they knew that doing this, learning more about the box would help another sort of bond form that would hopefully allow more for the box to do.

Clara grinned and slowly reached out for a switch, something they noticed she did when she wasn't sure about something, reach slowly and if they didn't stop her assume it was the right one. She quickly pulled it when she reached it, knowing that it was the right one since she hadn't been warned against it, but the TARDIS instantly went dark, "What have I done?"

"Nothing," Mac told her, frowning, "That wasn't you Clara," she reassured her as she and the Doctor moved to their spots and started trying to see what was going on.

"O…k…" the Doctor frowned, seeing the screen on the monitor starting to crack.

"What is it?" Clara asked.

"The electrical impulses are jammed," Mac told her, "And the shields won't come back up."

The Doctor hurried over to a lever, trying to push it, "She's completely vulnerable," he grunted, managing to bring the lever down, only for sparks to fly about, the box jolting and sending them sprawling backwards.

Mac hurried back, seeing a light flashing, "Magnetic hobble-field!" she called to the Doctor.

He ran back to the monitor, the image flickering but still visible for now, "We're flying right into it."

"Clara," Mac reached out and grabbed Clara's hand, "Keep close by me."

"Please tell me there's a button you can press to fix this," Clara screamed, gripping the console tightly as the ship jerked and bucked.

"Oh, yes," the Doctor nodded, "Big friendly button."

"NO such button," Mac grit her teeth, trying to get another lever to move, but it was stuck.

Clara gasped, nearly falling backwards into the side panel when she saw something on the ground, like a small grenade but not a grenade. She picked it up and dropped it with a hiss as it was burning hot.

But there was little time to think on that or check on her when a massive explosion went off, sending them all flying in different directions…

~8~

Mac came to with a gasp, sitting bolt upright…on the floor of hers and the Doctor's bedroom.

"What?" she shook her head, looking around, completely confused for only a moment till she saw the state of the room. It was disheveled, everything on the ground, as though an earthquake had hit it, something she knew wasn't possible in the TARDIS. She frowned and got up, groaning a moment, feeling a bit battered, before putting a hand to her head, everything coming back to her. The console room, the Doctor and Clara, the explosion…

She winced, rubbing her head, knowing she must have hit it in either the console room or the teleport for clearly the TARDIS had to have teleported her to somewhere safe. Even if she wasn't a recognized pilot the TARDIS would still try to keep those inside her safe. She bit her lip though, seeing the Doctor wasn't there. He should have been, if he were still in the TARDIS it would have sent him there too…but he wasn't. She took a deep breath, knowing that it meant the Doctor was likely outside the TARDIS.

Which was quite a good thing judging by the state of the halls when she opened the door to go to Clara's room and check on her. There was debris everywhere, wires hanging from the ceiling, the red emergency lights on. There were chunks of metal and pipe everywhere, sparks going off, some wood. She let out a breath at the sight, whatever it was that had grabbed them had done a number on the TARDIS, she looked up and down the hall, not quite sure how long she'd been out, but knowing that she had to get to the console room and quickly, she had to check the status of the TARDIS, see what was damaged, and try to fix it quickly. If the halls were like this then she couldn't imagine what the rest of the box was like.

Still, she had to check on Clara first, so she hurried down the hall, avoiding some sparking wires and got to her door, a light wooden door with Clara's name on it, four little leaves in the corner of the box that had her name on it. She knocked gently before pushing it open, only to see Clara wasn't there. She bit her lip once more, hoping that it meant Clara was with the Doctor but…she couldn't be sure. She could tell for certain that the Doctor wasn't in the box any longer, being an official pilot the TARDIS would ensure his safety first. But Clara, the TARDIS could have tried to teleport her and failed or might have only been able to move her one room or so. She had been in the box longer than Clara, had been there with Donna and Amy and Rory, she'd built a relationship with the box up and, being a Time Lady, she was more secure than Clara was.

If she could get to the console room, she could run a scan and see if Clara was still there, but she had to get there first. She turned and hurried back to her room, wanting to see if there was anything in there that could help, only to stop when she saw what looked like claw marks all over the door. She hadn't noticed them when she'd left the room, so focused on getting to Clara, but now she found herself backing up. It seemed like something had tried to claw its way into the room only to fail, and that made her tense as she realized there was something loose in the halls. She let out a breath, she needed something to help her, to defend herself with. She knew the layout the TARDIS defaulted to when in an emergency like this. It put all the needed rooms to keep someone safe on one side, like the medbay, the kitchen, the bedrooms, but the console room in the center…she had to get there and…the kitchen might actually have just what she needed to defend herself. The metal around her were all flat pieces so far, or too small to do much damage, she needed something else.

The kitchen it was then.

~8~

Mac was in the middle of raiding the kitchen, slipping things into her pockets as she went, trying to be quick as she'd seen more of the claw marks on the walls on the way, she could tell that whatever was out there might eventually double back and she needed to be quick and get out of there fast. She smiled, opening a cupboard and pulling out the last useful thing in there, two rather big bottles of cooking oil…just when she stiffened, hearing a growling noise behind her. She slowly turned to see a humanoid figure standing in the door way, looking gray with ash, like it was made entirely of it. There was no face, no other distinguishing features, it was standing there with its hands appearing to be fused to the front of its hips.

Mac slowly backed away from it, watching as it entered the room, heading towards her around a small counter in the middle of the room. Well, it wasn't that bright if it didn't realize she was circling back the other way towards the door, leaving it on the other side of the counter. She turned and bolted for the door as soon as she was on that side, ripping open the cap of one of the bottles and pouring it on the ground as she left, wincing as she heard a slamming thump behind her as she rounded a corner, knowing the creature had run after her and tripped on the oil.

She hurried around another few corners, down a couple halls, before she stopped around another corner and paused to gather her breath. She closed her eyes a moment, taking some deep breaths before she turned and hurried off down the hall again, needing to get to the console room.

~8~

Mac knelt at an intersection, glancing up as she heard a faint growling down one of the halls. She sighed, pouring the powdery substance onto the ground before standing. She looked around cautiously, she was only a few halls away from the console room, and she just needed to make sure that she'd get there in one piece. She reached into her pockets for the bottle she needed and quickly poured the vinegar on the baking soda on the ground, creating a thick smoke rising above her, a few other powders mixed in with it to make it thicker, before she turned and hurried off, using the makeshift smoke screen to keep her path safe till she finally reached the console room.

"Oh thank god," she breathed, rushing up to the console. It was dark, but there were a few lights still working. She hurried over to the monitor, tried to get enough power there to run a scan for Clara or even the Doctor, to see what else might be wrong with the TARDIS but there was hardly enough power there to do much of anything except flicker the lights that were still working.

She sighed and bit her lip, standing back and crossing her arms, trying to think of what she could do…

A piece of debris fell off the console, but the way it fell made her feel like it had been knocked off instead of just toppled. She moved over and picked it up, eyeing it a moment, before dropping it and rushing to the lights. It was a long shot, a very, very long shot but she started to flicker the lights on purpose, using Morris Code to try and contact whoever might be in the room too. She could tell, the moment she entered, she could sense something off about the room, it was like there were multiple versions of it in different moments of time and space. There was someone there too, in that room, but just a second out of sync with her.

She paused, waiting to see if anyone would reply…and nearly laughed when she saw 'Kenzie?' being spelled out. She quickly leaped forward to send a reply, just managing to get the word 'yes' spelled out when she heard the growling noise again.

She spun around and this time it was a different creature, one with its hand stuck to its forehead. She quickly pulled out her items from her pocket and poured the oil before her, on either side of the console and backed up towards where the doors should have been, watching as the creature slipped and slid on the ground, trying to get up and grabbing the console for support.

"Oh Doctor," she breathed, when suddenly she felt herself being jerked forward and was now in the console room again, but with the Doctor…and two young black men…before her.

"Kenzie!" the Doctor gasped, hugging her tightly a moment, seeming about to kiss her when a scream echoed in the room, "Right, Clara!" he turned and quickly reached out in the same area Mac had been, pulling Clara into the room with them, apparently Clara had been trapped in a different console room as well.

"Clara!" Mac hurried over and hugged her tightly, "Are you ok?"

"It's alright," the Doctor patted her on the back, "Clara, it's ok," he looked at Mac and kissed her quickly, "I'm so, so sorry. Please, please forgive me..."

Mac leaned in and kissed him again, "Calm down Doctor," she smiled at him, "You can hardly control an exploding TARDIS."

Clara, however, squirmed out of their hold and pointed an accusing finger at them, "What do you keep in here?! Why have you got zombie creatures? Good guys do not have zombie creatures. Rule one! Basic storytelling!" she turned to try and huff away only to see the two men standing there, "And who are they?!"

"Friends," the Doctor shrugged.

"So people who aren't trying to kill you just yet?" Mac asked dryly.

"That's the one," he snapped his finger and pointed at her.

"Alright, alright," the elder of the two men cut in, "A deal's a deal. You got the girls back. Now cancel the self-destruct."

"What self-destruct?" Mac scoffed, "The TARDIS hasn't got a self destruct."

"What?!" both men shouted, glaring at the Doctor.

Mac closed her eyes a moment, "You told them there was a self destruct?"

"Well it was the only way to get them to cooperate," he said defensively, "I just wiggled a few buttons. The old wiggly-button trick. And the face. You've got to do the face," he made a serious face, "'Save them or we all die.' I thought I rushed it a bit, but..."

Mac just shook her head, "You may want to stop talking Doctor."

"So you're telling us we're safe?" the younger of the two men called.

"What, have you not been chanced by the ash creatures?" Mac glanced at him, "They are plenty dangerous, so no you are not safe from them."

"Yes," the Doctor sighed, "Apart from the monsters and the TARDIS reinventing the architecture every five minutes. Guys, don't worry, the countdown's a fake. Look, just give me just a second. I'll turn it off," he moved to the console that seemed to have more power than Mac's had and flicked a few switches, "I only made it look as though the engine was actually exploding…"

Mac closed her eyes as an alarm went off, "The engine is ACTUALLY exploding now, isn't it?" she guessed.

"It appears the engine is damaged," he agreed, "We're in trouble. Proper trouble. It needs fixing or we're toast."

Mac sighed, "So let's go fix it then," she turned to follow him to the lower level.

"So now would be a good time to use that big friendly button, right?" Clara followed them with the two men.

"Yeah, sorry," the Doctor winced, "I should have had one built in."

"Where are we going?" the younger man asked as the Doctor soniced a panel and Mac pulled it off.

The Doctor took a deep breath and knelt down, "Detour. The center of the TARDIS."

~8~

The Doctor and Mac were leading the way through the halls of a lower corridor of the TARDIS, the two men, Gregor and Tricky, behind them, along with Clara, when a shadow passed before them, "Shush!" Clara gasped, "Something's in here."

"Those...things," Tricky whispered, "They've followed us."

"What are they?" Clara looked at the Doctor and Mac, she could tell they both knew, it was the look they'd given each other after Mac had mentioned the ash creatures that let her know, they both knew what they were and neither was saying, "What aren't you telling me?"

"Trust me," the Doctor murmured, "Some things you don't want to know."

"Behind!" Mac pointed behind them, having turned to look at Clara and seen a creature pass.

"They're on the move again!" Gregor called.

"Run!" the Doctor took Mac's hand and pulled her off, "Move, move!"

They ran around another corner, down a corridor, Mac glancing back only to stop, "Clara! Where's Clara!?"

The Doctor looked back to see Clara had indeed gotten separated, "Come on," he headed back with Mac.

"You two," she pointed at Gregor and Tricky, "Stay here!" and ran after the Doctor.

They backtracked as best they could till they saw Clara standing in a hall, speaking to another Doctor that was just standing there, in thought.

"Clara, stop," Mac pulled her back as she reached out to touch it, "You can't touch it."

"Why not?" Clara stepped back.

"There's a rupture in time somewhere onboard the ship," the Doctor told her, "A small tear in the fabric of the continuum. It must have happened when the TARDIS was pulled in by the salvage vessel. The TARDIS is leaking."

"Leaking what?"

"The past," Mac told her, "And the future, everything that we did in here and the times soon to come."

"But that," the Doctor nodded at himself, "It's not real, it's a memory."

They turned, about to head back to the others, when they came face to face with one of the creatures, a smaller, petite one, "What about this?" Clara whispered.

"No, that's real," Mac nodded, "Remember, bleeding the future too."

"Future?!" Clara gaped at her, not sure what she meant about those creatures being the future.

"Run!" the Doctor took Mac's hand and pulled her back with Clara, but the creature gave chase, "She's right onto us!"

"She?"

"Just run!" Mac pushed her on, the three of them turning a corner and quickly hurrying into a small side niche, waiting and quieting, listening as the creature approached…only to hear the voices of their past selves, when they'd been walking and talking in the console in the distance. They waited, hearing the creature hurry after the voices, before they stepped out, only to hear a groaning noise above them.

"What's that noise?" Clara swallowed hard.

"We're right under the primary fuel cells," the Doctor told her.

"So? So? So what?"

"The rods below it heat up Clara, and if the fuel spills on it, it'll cool them and…"

"And they'll start to warp."

"Yes," the Doctor winced, "Maybe even..."

"No! You don't say it. Don't you dare say it."

"…break apart," the Doctor finished moments before a large rod shot down before them, nearly impaling them, making them jump back.

"Run?"

"Yes," Mac nodded, turning to push her on, the three of them running back to where they'd left Gregor and Tricky, trying to duck and avoid the rods as they broke through the walls and floor and ceiling at odd angles. They tried to be quick, to get there fast, and were able to hear the two men shouting at each other the nearer they came.

"I'm an android!" Tricky was shouting, his voice laced with pain, "Cut me!"

"Oh my god!" Mac gasped, seeing that Tricky had been impaled through the shoulder by one of the beams.

"What's the matter with you?" Tricky ignored her, focusing on Gregor who was standing there, apparently refusing to cut the man out, "Why won't you cut me?"

"Tell him," the Doctor looked at Gregor.

Mac looked between the two men, she hadn't thought Tricky was anything but human upon meeting him, sure he had robotic eyes and a robotic voice box that she could see the scars of on the side of his neck, but he acted more human than an android of this time period could. But he'd just been shouting that he was an android moments ago. And then she saw it, the guilty look on Gregor's face, the regret, the heartbreak and she realized…

Tricky didn't know he wasn't an android.

"Tell me what?" Tricky shook his head.

"You seriously lied to him about that?" Mac gave him a horrified look, "You told him he was an android and now you can't even tell him the truth?!"

"What…what's she going on about?" Tricky frowned, "What truth?"

The Doctor sighed, seeing Gregor still not speaking, "Robots don't need blast suits. They don't need respirators. They don't get frightened of monsters in the dark."

"What's he talking about?"

The Doctor held up the sonic, scanning Tricky's eyes, "Two bionic eyes and a synthetic voice box, but you, my friend, are human. Flesh and blood."

Tricky looked over at Gregor, hurt evident in his eyes as he realized the lie he'd been told, "It was a joke…" Gregor offered weakly, "It was just a stupid joke. We did it to relieve the boredom."

"Oh that's nice," Mac glared at Gregor, "You lie to someone about their humanity? What if he developed a 'glitch' one day and killed you!? You had NO right to do that."

"I'm sorry," Gregor had the decency to look down, ashamed, before he looked at Tricky, "You're human, Tricky."

"Then cut the metal since you can't cut the flesh," Mac scoffed, lifting the small laser saw that was in Gregor's hands, forgotten about by the man in question, "Cut the rod!"

Gregor nodded and got to work.

~8~

Mac was beside Tricky, her arm around his waist, his arm over her shoulder as she helped him walk down the hall, his other arm bandaged. They were following the Doctor as he led the way, Clara on the other side of Tricky, ready to help if needed, while Gregor took the rear to keep them safe. They finally reached a door at the end of the corridor, the Doctor hurrying to the door and looking through a small glass window and into the room beyond, a golden light blazing within.

"Where are we?" Clara asked as Mac moved to help Tricky lean against the wall.

"Power source," the Doctor answered, "Right, you lot," he looked at the humans, "Wait here. Kenzie?" he turned to her, she nodded, knowing he'd need her help in there, the power source was turbulent and two would be better in getting across it and helping each other, "We'll check it's safe," he turned back to Clara and the men, "We can only survive for a minute or two in there."

"Um...what happens if we stay longer?" Clara frowned.

"Our cells will liquefy and our skin will start to burn."

"I always feel so good after we've spoken."

The Doctor glanced at Mac and blinked, "What?" he asked, seeing the look she was giving him, her eyebrow raised.

"You just told the truth," she told him, "You're slipping dear."

He chuckled a moment, thinking of how she always got irritated when he lied to the companions, but just took her hand, "Keep this door shut," he told Clara before they opened the door and rushed into the other room.

It was nearly blinding for a moment, the two of them needing to take a few breaths to try and acclimatize before they rushed across a metal catwalk to a door on the other side, hardly even looking up at the power source above them, having a good depth of knowledge about what it was and not needing to stare. They opened the second door with the sonic and peered out of it, looking around before they hurried back to the first door.

They could vaguely hear Tricky shouting something as they pushed the door open to see him charging at Gregor, the two rushing forward to pull them apart, Mac taking Tricky while the Doctor handled Gregor.

"Tricky stop it," Mac tried to hold his arm down so he wouldn't hurt himself more, "You need to calm down!"

"How!?" he demanded, "He lied to me this entire time! My own brother!"

"Ask yourself why he couldn't cut you up," the Doctor attempted, "He has just one tiny scrap of decency left in him. You just helped him find that, ok? Now you," he looked at Gregor, "Don't ever forget this."

Mac took a breath and headed to the door, "We have to be quick and we have to make it to the other door, so no fighting," she pointed warningly at the boys, "Now go!"

The Doctor hurried through, leading the way as Mac opened the door to let him through. She'd just shut the door when she noticed that the humans hadn't moved, they were just standing there staring up at what appeared to be a star, a literal star, hanging above them in the darkness of the room.

"It's just a star!" Mac pushed them on, "The Eye of Harmony. It's just an exploding star caught in a stasis before it can become a black hole, now go!"

She pushed them once more and they finally started walking, Gregor helping Tricky while Mac kept an eye on Clara as they reached the Doctor at the other door. He'd just gotten it open, only to see one of the creatures was waiting for him and slammed it closed behind him.

"Back!" the Doctor cried, urging them back to the other door…but there was another creature there too, Mac slamming that door shut as well.

"There's no way out," Gregor gasped, "We're trapped."

"You're going to tell me now!" Clara demanded as the Doctor moved to Mac's side, trying to see if there was any way to get the creature away, it was the smallest of the creatures they'd encountered, quite petite, "If we're going to die in here, tell me what they are."

"We can't," the Doctor breathed.

"Tell me! What's the use in secrets now?"

"Secrets protect us. Secrets make us safe."

Mac closed her eyes and shook her head, "Not always," she looked at him, "Sometimes they hurt, and they cause others to be hurt, and they destroy the trust that should exist," she gave him a meaningful look. There had been so many things he hadn't told her, secrets he'd kept from her, things he'd felt he couldn't tell her, and it had nearly been the end of them. She hadn't trusted him when she should have, she didn't care for him like she ought to have, just because of those things he'd never told her till later. All it did was drive a wedge between them, test their patience, made her angry at him and then hurt her later to realize she'd been so awful to him. No, secrets did not make anything better. So she took a breath and turned to Clara, "Clara…those creatures are US."

Clara blinked, "Us?"

She nodded, "The TARDIS is bleeding the future as well, remember?"

Clara stepped beside them and looked at the creature slamming its hands and head against the wall, trying to break in, "So…that one's me then?" she guessed, it was the same height and build as her, "And the others…it's you two and them," she gestured absently back at that brothers, inspecting the other door, "We burn in here."

"Yes," Mac sighed, "I'm sorry."

"We both are," the Doctor swallowed hard, "We brought you here to keep you safe, but it happened again. You died again."

Clara frowned at that and turned to him, "What do you mean, again?"

Mac shook her head at that, that was the one thing that she was actually ok with the Doctor not telling Clara and keeping from her, until they actually knew what the other Claras were, she didn't want to alarm Clara. For all they knew, someone just got their hands on a small bit of her DNA and made clones, or someone made android robots of her, or something, it might be something that wouldn't affect this Clara at all, but till they knew they didn't want to alarm her.

The Doctor put a hand to his forehead, rubbing it as he realized what he'd let slip, and looked at his hand, recalling one of the creatures with its hand fused to its forehead. Mac frowned, seeing his expression, thinking of the creature as well, before she realized she had her hands in her pockets now, trying to find something to help and realized that the one with the hands fused to its front hips had to be her. She quickly pulled her hands out of her pockets as the Doctor ran to the brothers, both at the door, back to back, trying to keep the door closed.

"As long as we interrupt the timeline, this can't happen!" the Doctor shouted, pushing the two men apart, "Don't touch each other, otherwise the future will reassert itself," he pulled the men back but it allowed the door to open as a creature pushed in. One with its hand fused to its forehead, grabbing at Gregor and the pack he was wearing on his back, "Gregor! Gregor, let go of the circuit."

"What circuit?!" Mac shouted over the others trying to tell Gregor to let it go.

Gregor just slipped out of his pack and backed away, Tricky rushing forward and swinging at the creature with a crowbar and sending it flying over the rail. They tried to run to the open door, but a creature that appeared to be fused together at the sides ran in, forcing them back. Tricky ran at it again with the crowbar, managing to beat it down and kick it to the side, off the rail, but as it fell it took Tricky with him. The boy managed to grab onto the ledge and Gregor rushed to help him up.

"No!" Mac cried as they made it to the other door, "Gregor you can't touch him!"

But it was too late, Gregor had helped Tricky onto the catwalk, the boy leaning on his side…and they fused into the creature and lunged at them.

The Doctor pulled Mac back and slammed the door shut, sonicing it locked, "The engine room," he panted, "The heart of the TARDIS," he squeezed Mac's hand, "Come on!" before he ran off with Mac and Clara down another hall.

~8~

The small trio ran through a door, stopping short and waving their arms around for balance when they nearly toppled over the side of a cliff only a few feet away from the door.

"We're outside…" Clara breathed.

"Not quite," Mac smiled a bit, "This is still within the TARDIS."

Clara didn't even bother to ask how that was possible, just stating, "There's no way across."

"Doesn't appear to be no."

"So what do we do? Time for a plan. Do you have a plan?"

"Well, no," the Doctor winced, "No plan, sorry."

"If you don't have a plan, we're dead!"

Just as Mac opened her mouth to say that they had a 'thing,' the Doctor spoke, "Yes, we are. So just tell us."

"Tell you what?" Clara frowned and even Mac seemed confused.

"Well, there's no point now, we're about to die, so just tell us who you are."

"Doctor…" Mac started, they already knew that Clara likely had no idea what was going on with the other hers running around, but the Doctor seemed to think she might have some sort of minor clue about it.

"You know who I am," Clara told him.

"No, we don't!" he huffed, "Kenzie and I look at you every single day, and we don't understand a thing about you. Why do we keep running into you?"

"You and Mackenzie invited me," Clara shook her head.

"Yes but before that," he huffed, "We met you in the Dalek Asylum. There was a girl in a shipwreck, and she died saving our lives. And she was you."

"Doctor," Mac tried to stop him, seeing him getting worked up.

"She really wasn't," Clara gave him an odd look.

"Victorian London," he kept on, "There was a governess who was a barmaid, and we fought the Great Intelligence together, she died, and it was my fault, and she was YOU."

"Doctor stop it!" Mac cut in.

"You're scaring me," Clara backed up.

But the Doctor was on a roll, "What are you, eh? Are you a trick, a trap?"

Mac reached out and grabbed the Doctor by the front of his shirt and pulled him to her, kissing him to stop him talking and distract him enough to get off Clara's back about it all. They knew, they knew that Clara had no idea what was going on with her, they were sure of it. But she could feel it in the Doctor's kiss when he started to kiss her back, how he was scared and worried and desperate to know. He was worried about her, about them, about what Clara and whatever mess she was involved in would mean for them. Often when there was something going on around them but just out of their grasp it ended up being devastating for them. The Silence, the cracks in the universe, the bees disappearing, it was a never ending cycle, and it always meant something deadly at the end. He was afraid that one or both of them would get hurt. He just wanted to know, he just wanted to know what was going on and keep her safe. He never cared about himself, he'd take a bullet for anyone, but he wanted HER safe…and right now they didn't know what was going on with Clara and what it would mean for them. He was afraid.

Mac rested her forehead to the Doctor's when she pulled away, "_She really DOESN'T know Doctor,_" she told him in Gallifreyan, "_She truly doesn't,_" she looked into his eyes as she touched his cheek, "_She's just Clara._"

He let out a breath, "_I know,_" he agreed, nodding his head against hers, "_I know…I just…_"

"I know," she smiled at him, he didn't want anything to hurt any of them, "_But right now, the TARDIS may just hurt us. _We have to get to the engine room."

He swallowed hard, realizing they really didn't have time to do this, they didn't have time to worry about what was going on with Clara, the TARDIS had to be a priority, "We're not going to die here," he stepped back, "This isn't real! It's a snarl."

"…what?" Clara shook her head, staring at them, not having a single clue what was going on. One minute the Doctor was shouting at her and the next he was kissing Mac and now he was talking about snarling? He really was a madman with a box wasn't he?

"What does a wounded animal do?" the Doctor turned to her, acting as though nothing out of the ordinary had just happened, like he hadn't just been shouting at her, "It tries to scare everyone away. We're close to the engine. The TARDIS is snarling at us, trying to frighten us off."

"I think we may have to jump," Mac tried to look over the edge of the cliff.

"You're as insane as he is!" Clara pointed at Mac mock accusingly.

"Perhaps," Mac mused, "I am his Chosen after all."

"No, no, see, we'll cross a portal to the engine," the Doctor smiled, taking Mac's hand and pulling her back, Mac reaching out to take Clara's as well, the girl trusting her a bit more as the Doctor had been the one shouting at her.

"How can you be so sure?" Clara frowned.

"Well, I can't."

"Ok, well, that's watertight."

"Trust me then Clara," Mac smiled at her, "I've studied the TARDIS more than this one has," she nodded at the Doctor, "I know the technical aspects of it as well as he has the experience. This really is a defense mechanism, we jump, we end up in the engine room."

"Ready?" the Doctor asked, squeezing Mac's hand, "Geronimo!" he cried, the three of them running to the edge and jumping over it…

~8~

…and landing in a stark white room, the engine room, just as Mac and the Doctor suspected, but there was bits of metal and debris stuck in the air, frozen in the process of exploding it appeared.

"The heart of the TARDIS," the Doctor breathed, his voice catching, "The engine, it's already exploded."

"It had to have happened when the TARDIS got caught in that grab and brought to the salvage ship."

"We're not dead," Clara blinked.

"She wrapped her hands around the force," the Doctor realized, "Froze it."

"So... so it's safe?"

"No," Mac sighed, "It's only temporary. And when that period ends the engine room will continue the explosion."

"There's no way we can save her now," the Doctor breathed, knowing that not even Mac and her rubber bands and paper clips would be able to do it either, "She's just always been there for me, taken care of me. And now it's my turn and I don't know what to do," he looked at Mac as she reached out and took his hand.

"It'll be alright," Clara tried to help too, reaching out to put a hand on his arm but she winced, pulling back and rubbed her palm a little.

"What's wrong Clara?" Mac frowned.

"Just…burns," Clara shrugged, but Mac reached out and took her hand, opening her palm to see 'Big Friendly Button' burned into her skin.

"Clara…" the Doctor's eyes widened as an idea hit him, "Thank you!" he beamed, hugging her tightly, before rushing out with the sonic, "The rift in time! All the memories leaking out. We need to find the moment we crashed. We need to find...the music!" he dashed off down the hall.

~8~

They reached the console room quickly, hurrying underneath it to see a crack in the wall, much like the ones that had been scattered across the Universe but vertical this time. They quickly headed over to it, the Doctor scanning it with the sonic, "The time rift. Recent past. Possible future."

"What are you going to do?" Clara asked.

The Doctor merely pulled out a small grenade-like device from his pocket, "Nicked it off the boys," he grinned, using the sonic to carve 'Big Friendly Button' into it, "Can use this to rewrite today, I hope. I had to have thrown this through the rift before. Now I just need to make sure this time. Going to take it in there myself. There might be a certain amount of yelling…"

"It's going to hurt?" Clara frowned.

"Yes," Mac took a breath, "But it'll be over quickly," she told the Doctor more than Clara, "And then this will all erase and we'll be back in the TARDIS before this happened."

"But…all those things you said," Clara looked between them, "How we've met before. How I died..."

"You'll forget them," Mac nodded.

"I don't want to forget. Not all of it. There was a library. I saw it. You were both mentioned in a book. You and your daughter and…"

"We're mentioned in a lot of books," the Doctor chuckled, winking at them before heading to the crack.

"You call yourself Doctor," she looked at the Doctor, and then to Mac, "And people called you Mackenzie," and back and forth, "Why do you do that? You have names. I've seen it. In one corner of that tiny..."

"And that's all the more reason to do this," Mac cut in gently, "You can't know Clara, and if this works," she glanced at the Doctor, "You won't remember them."

"You'll still have secrets."

"Better that way sometimes," the Doctor whispered, knowing this was one of them, what Clara had learned there, about their names and her various fates, was not something she needed to know, that was a secret that HAD to be kept. He dashed forward suddenly, kissing Mac quickly before hurrying to the crack, taking a deep breath, before disappearing through it as the room went white.

~8~

Mac and the Doctor were absently working on the console, just cleaning it up, feeling like they needed to clean it despite it being already rather spotless. They glanced over, seeing Clara enter with a towel around her neck, having taken a shower, and glanced at each other. The girl didn't remember, but they did, how the TARDIS had been struck by a salvage crew, the mess that followed, how the Doctor had thrown a control into the room and the Doctor managed to catch it and hit a 'Big Friendly Button' to reverse time. The grab that had first gotten them had let them go and there was just a tiny bit of minor damage to fix.

"I feel exhausted," Clara sighed as she leaned against the console, "I feel..."

"Like we've had two days crammed into the space of one?" the Doctor guessed.

Clara blinked and stared at him, "Why would you say that?"

"I don't know," he moved to the controls and fiddled with them as Mac rolled her eyes, "I say stuff. Ignore me."

Mac shook her head at him and looked at Clara, "Clara…are you ok, being here? Do you feel safe?"

"Of course," Clara nodded.

"How safe?"

"Entirely," she told them with a smile, "You've both been good to me, even the TARDIS has considering I'm not an official companion and all," she patted the console as the rotor hummed.

"Good, good," the Doctor smiled.

"Why?" she looked between them.

"We just…wanted to know you weren't afraid," Mac offered.

"Afraid of what?"

"The future," the Doctor smiled, "Running away with aliens in a box. Anything could happen to you."

"That's what I'm counting on," Clara laughed, "Push the button," she nodded at the console and turned to head off to dry her hair.

Mac and the Doctor smiled watching her go. They knew she felt something from the shift in time, the exhaustion being one, and they were so relieved to know that, despite that, she still felt safe with them. So they turned and pulled a lever, sending the box off to another adventure.

They'd probably hold off on teaching Clara more about the TARDIS for a few trips more, just to be safe.

A/N: Never ever tell your parents you're feeling better after being ill :( My parents decided that, because I was feeling better, I needed to 'get out of the house' and 'get some fresh air' and I think it was more them seeing me trying to update the chapters the last few days and pulling me away from my writing/editing (they do that a lot :( ). I'm sorry there were no chapters yesterday, my mother made me spend most of the day running errands with her and trying to find a birthday gift for my sister. But since today is my sister's birthday, I'm going to try and do a treat for you all too and give you a second chapter later today :)

As for this chapter, I keep trying to think of new combinations for the episodes, we had 1 TL with Clara, 1 with the Doctor, 1 alone while Clara was with the Doctor, so I wanted to try 1 that was in the TARDIS with Clara but not WITH Clara lol :) I hope you liked it :)

No real notes on reviews for the last chapter :)


	17. The Crimson Horror

The Crimson Horror

"You know," the Doctor began as he pulled a lever and set the TARDIS down on their latest adventure, "You should really wear floor length gowns more often," he smiled at Mac as she rolled her eyes.

They were shooting for London near the end of the 1800s, a year or so after Clara-the-Governess had passed and, to fit the times, they were trying to at least wear Victorian clothes. Mac had settled for the same outfit she'd worn the last time they were there, the Doctor keeping more of his purple attire but with a bowler hat. Clara had gone all out, a black fitted dress on top, a flowing skirt, with red accents and a bonnet, her hair all curled up, looking every part the woman of 1893. Mac had been tempted not to wear a gown like that again, but the Doctor had insisted and reminded her that, at this point in time, revealing her ankles would likely get them thrown in jail so there she was in her Victorian gown again.

"If I did," she countered, "Then YOU would never see my legs."

The Doctor opened his mouth to try and argue that…only to realize that was rather true, and closed his mouth with a pop, making Mac laugh and place a kiss to his cheek as they joined Clara at the door, the woman eager to get out there and see the sights.

"Ok," the Doctor sighed the moment they saw their surroundings, "Not London 1893. Yorkshire 1893. Near enough."

"Rather good for your attempts," Mac had to agree as she shut the TARDIS doors, "We could have ended up on Mercury."

"Not true," the Doctor stuck his tongue out at her, "At worst it would be Venus."

Mac chuckled and took his arm as they stepped further out to observe the buildings around them.

"You're making a habit of this," Clara remarked, "Getting us lost."

"Sorry," he smiled apologetically, "It's much better than it used to be," he started to walk on with Mac, Clara on her other side, "I once spent a hell of a long time trying to get a gobby Australian to Heathrow Airport."

"What for?"

"He likes picking up strays and extending their trips," Mac explained, "Our last companions, the Ponds, we were supposed to take them on a short anniversary jaunt…ended up getting them back 7 weeks later, for them, it was only about 5 minutes for the party going on at their house."

They all stopped short when they heard a woman screaming in the distance and glanced at each other a moment before smirking and bolting off towards the sound. It wasn't all that far really, just around the corner where there was a small bridge over a canal, a group of people already gathered there seeming to be looking at something over the side, in the water.

"It's another one!" a man was shouting, the police restraining him, "Don't you see? Another victim!" the Doctor, Mac, and Clara quickly looked over the side as well, able to see it was indeed a victim of something. There was a body floating in the water, wearing white underthings but its skin was a bright, nearly candy, red, "Why won't any one of you listen?!"

"We'll listen," the Doctor offered, spinning around.

Mac nearly reached for her ID before she realized, "1893," she sighed, "UNIT won't be around for about another century," she looked at the Doctor, seeing him grinning excitedly, "Oh go on."

He beamed at that and pulled out the psychic paper, they'd taken to a small habit of using her UNIT badge for most adventures but he rather liked coming up with new identities for them, "Dr. John Smith, Private Detective, my associates, Mackenzie and Clara Oswald," he pointed at them, "If it's alright with you, officers," he eyed the police, "We'd like to have word?"

The police shrugged and let the man go, knowing that they couldn't really arrest him for just shouting things, not when they had to focus on getting that body out of the river before others started to gather.

The man straightened his suit and walked over to them, "Edmund Thursday," he shook their hands, "Dr. Smith, Miss Oswald, Miss Oswald," he nodded at the women too, making Mac blink as she realized that the way the Doctor had introduced them made it sound like she and Clara were related.

Clara seemed to get the same idea as she looked at Mac, the two women shaking their heads, they looked nothing alike.

"Now," the Doctor clapped his hands, "What seems to be the problem?"

"That," Edmund pointed to the canal, "Is not the first body to appear in such a condition. There is only one culprit possibly responsible yet no one will do a damn thing about it or help me try to prove it was her!"

"We will," Mac offered, "We'll help any way we can."

"Who do you think's doing this to them?" Clara frowned.

Edmund looked at them intently, as though trying to see if they were serious about helping him, before he nodded, "This way," he turned and led them off, down a few roads but still rather close, right up to a large factory, 'Sweetville' the sign said, "Mrs. Winifred Gillyflower, formerly from here. An astonishing woman. A prize-winning chemist and mechanical engineer. So why..."

"Why has she decided to open up a match factory in her old home town?" the Doctor finished, glancing at the signs for the factory.

Edmund nodded, the four of them looking at the building in the sunset, "And no one who ever goes to live there ever seems to come out."

~8~

The trio stood with Edmund in the morgue that night, looking at the body that had been fished from the canal. The coroner had confirmed what Edmund had told them, this wasn't the first case he'd seen of a body in such condition, "Same as the rest," Edmund sighed, rubbing his eyes, "All dead from causes unknown and their flesh...glowing."

"Like something manky in a coal cellar," the coroner nodded, "They keep turning up in't canal. The Crimson Horror!"

"Ooh good name," the Doctor smiled at it before glancing at Mac and Clara, "Hey, that's good, isn't it? The Crimson Horror!"

Mac shook her head, "I think we should probably focus on what exactly it IS Doctor," she reminded him, pulling a magnifying glass from her skirt pocket, she'd made sure that, after a few incidents of having no pockets, that ALL her potential outfits would have pockets from now on. She leaned forward and started to examine the body as the Doctor pulled out the sonic and scanned it, "Ooh that's weird," she murmured, spotting something in the eye, "Doctor…you remember that blather about optographs?"

"Yes…" the Doctor trailed off before rushing over to her side and taking the magnifying glass to check the eye of the deceased victim, just as Mac had, his eyes widening when he saw what she had, the image of an old woman in a bonnet of her own staring back at them, frozen in the eye, "Clara, have you ever heard of an optograph before?"

"No," Clara frowned, "What is it?"

"It's an old Romany superstition that the eye of a dead person retains an image of the last thing it sees," he handed her the magnifying glass to see the image herself, "Usually never happens unless the chemical composition of the body has been massively corrupted."

"Like it has with this substance on the skin," Mac agreed, rubbing a small handkerchief on the victim's skin, revealing the red washes off.

"Interesting," the Doctor took the handkerchief.

Mac smiled and moved over to a table the coroner had his substances and chemicals on, gathering what she'd need to test the substance and getting to work making a makeshift lap, plucking the handkerchief from the Doctor a moment to scrape the substance off of it and examine it, "Well that's not pleasant," she frowned at the results.

"This is nasty," the Doctor agreed, "An organic poison. A sort of venom," he glanced at Edmund, "And you think it's connected to Sweetville?"

"I do," he nodded.

"Then we need to get in there and find out where it's coming from and why people are coated in it," Mac nodded.

The Doctor beamed widely, "Time to make a plan!"

~8~

The trio of time travelers stood before the old woman they'd seen in the victim's eye, Mrs. Gillyflower herself, in her office of the factory, which was actually more like a gated community for her workers, or as she liked to call them, pilgrims, "Doctor Smith, Miss Smith, and Miss Oswald," the woman smiled, "Oh, yes. You'll do very nicely."

Mac nearly rolled her eyes at that. The Doctor really needed to work on how he introduced them all to people. Apparently Gillyflower now thought that the Doctor and Clara were cousins and SHE was an Oswald and the Doctor's fiancé…she honestly had no idea how he'd managed to do that, but he had.

"Oh, grand," the Doctor smiled, seeming to realize his flub again, though he had a heavy Northern accent to his words, "Smashing. Eh, my girls and I couldn't be more chuffed, could we, love?" he smiled at Mac, putting an arm around her while linking his other arm with Clara's to put on a familial air.

Mac could admit that at least THAT made some sort of sense, the Doctor and Clara looked more related than she and Clara did.

"Come, come," Gillyflower stepped past them, "Let me give you the tour," she grinned, leading them down the stairs and into the courtyard of the community, past the houses that lined the edges, "Sweetville will provide you with everything you need. You won't have to worry about a thing...ever again."

"The name," Clara began, mimicking the Doctor's accent rather well, "Sweetville…"

"Yes?"

"Why not name it after yourself? After all, it's your creation."

"Gillyflowertown, eh?" the Doctor suggested, "Gillyflowerland! You could have roller-coasters."

"It is named in tribute to my partner," Gillyflower stopped to look at them.

"Would that be a late partner?" Mac questioned, trying to mimic the accent as well though from how the Doctor was saying 'don't, don't do that,' in her head she got the feeling she was rather horrendous at it, "Or a silent partner perhaps? Current partner?"

"Silent partner," Gillyflower nodded, patting her chest, "Mr. Sweet likes to keep himself to himself. Shall we move on?" she motioned at a door just beside her.

"Who lives here?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh, names don't matter here," Gillyflower chuckled, "All you need to know is that we only recruit the brightest and the best," she patted Clara on the cheek and opened the door, allowing them to look into a rather pristine room…that just so happened to have a man and woman sitting and standing like dolls inside a rather large bell jar attached to a set of bellows, looking as though frozen in a moment in time.

The trio tensed as they heard footsteps behind them and glanced back to see men advancing on them, and back to the room where other women had entered from the doorways.

"Well," the Doctor straightened his bowtie, "Geronimo."

~8~

Mac was quite sure she was going to kill the Doctor when all this was over. Sadly, at the moment, she couldn't quite move freely given the fact that her skin was covered in the poisonous red goop, she and the Doctor sitting on the floor of a stone room, some hay on the ground, their hands painfully locked together beside them. They'd been overwhelmed by the pilgrims and knocked out, awakening when they were being lowered into a vat of the red substance, well…the Doctor had awakened as he was being lowered, his arms tied with a large sort of rack under his arms dangling him there. She had had rather a more rude awakening, waking while immersed in the substance from the pain of it and thrashing about to try and free herself. She and the Doctor had been deposited in a reject pile, their skin red, their limbs stiff, but still alive. At times they weren't quite sure if that was a good thing as the pain was enormous, but if they could just work out a way to reverse it, it would most certainly be a good thing as they'd be able to find Clara, who had survived the process and been frozen like the couple they'd seen in the house.

Gillyflower had examined the line of new frozen pilgrims before ordering her blind daughter, Ada, to dispose of them. However when the woman found them to be alive she spared their lives, spared them from being dumped in the river…but changed them up by the Doctor's right and her left hand in that very room and left them alone. The Doctor had agonizingly taken her hand and held it, the poisonous substance finally hardening to the point where they could hardly move. According to Ada, the preservation process sometimes went wrong and only Mr. Sweet knew why that was. It had been ages ago that Ada had brought them there though. They'd encountered Edmund once, only a day or so after they'd been left there, the man bursting in and collapsing before them, dead. Ada had found him when she brought them their daily meal and dragged him out to dispose of him in the river. She brought them food once a day but never opened the door for them, choosing instead to use a flap on the bottom of the door to do so. It shouldn't have mattered how she gave them their food though, they could barely move as it was. They could stand with pain and rattle their chains but that was the whole of it.

So, when there was a rattling on the door, of someone trying the handle instead of the flap, they knew it wasn't Ada but someone else, though they could hardly think of anyone that would want to come to rescue them, Mac had even thought the person had run off when the Doctor scrambled painfully (dragging her with him) to the door when the flap opened and tried to reach for the person on the other side…till they heard the voice of the person speak.

"Alright, mate," the voice of Jenny, Madame Vastra's maid and lover called to them through the door, "You just stay calm now!" Mac rattled the chain, hoping it would tell Jenny they were both in there, but Jenny kept on, "I could open this door. Would you like that?" she rattled the chains again, "Thought you might. But you and me has got to come to an arrangement, savvy?" she rattled them once more, "Now, you stand well back. Do you hear me? I don't mean no harm to ya'. But you try anything funny and I'll leave you here to rot. Is that understood?" the Doctor winced as he knocked on the door before shuffling back with her, "Right."

And then, a moment later, the lock clicked and the door opened to reveal it really was Jenny standing there before them.

"Doctor?" Jenny gaped, "Mackenzie!?"

They knew they must look a sight to her, standing there in white trousers and a shirt for the Doctor and a white dress for Mac, their eyes wide, the Doctor's mouth open while hers was clenched tight (forcing them both to use their minds to communicate) and their skin as red as a cherry lolly, but she didn't look quite so shocked as they thought she would. Which they knew had to mean that Vastra was investigating the bodies as well. The Doctor winced a moment, Mac flinching as they tried to walk forward, more like shuffled, the Doctor's arms out making one of her hers extend too while the other remained locked against the side of her body.

"What's happened to you?" Jenny breathed, but Mac made a huffing noise in her mouth and her eyes darted to the corner where their clothes were, Jenny rushing over to grab them, "Can't you speak?" the Doctor tried but all that came out was a deep groan, "Right," Jenny hurried to them, "We're getting out of here," she shuffled the clothes to her one arm and quickly picked the lock of the shackles around their wrists, making quick work of it before leading them to the hall, knowing there was no way she could support them with how close they were together so she settled for keeping lookout as they moved, "Come on!" she whispered at them, leading them out, the two moving stiffly and slowly, their limbs locked straight as they went. They passed the lift and Jenny nearly gasped, hearing it moving up towards them, "Come on!" she moved behind them and tried to push them along faster, the three of them making it to the end of the hall and through a door a moment before the lift opened.

Jenny stopped through the door, staring out window of the corridor beyond it when she saw the room with the large vat of red poison within, the people being moved on a large rack and being dipped into the substance, "Oh, my God," she turned to them, working out what happened. The Doctor just pointed down the hall where he'd caught sight of what looked like a booth and shuffled towards it with Mac. He tried to make a grab for it but couldn't move, "What is it? You want to go there?" Jenny quickly opened it for them, helping the Time Lords in with their clothes and shutting it just as the sonic began to whir, making the light of the booth turn green…

Though, when the buzzing stopped and the light dimmed and the door didn't open, Jenny waited a moment longer before throwing it open, only to roll her eyes and huff when she saw the Doctor and Mac were standing within, now their normal pink selves, in their Victorian clothes, kissing.

"Oi!" she called, snapping them out of their moment.

"Jenny!" Mac beamed, rushing out to hug her, "Thank you so much!"

"Oh yes!" the Doctor cheered, rushing down the hall and jumping in the air to click his heels, relishing in being able to move again, "Just when you think your favorite lock-picking Victorian chambermaid will never turn up!"

"Where's Clara?" Mac turned to Jenny.

But Jenny just blinked, "Clara?"

"Must still be out there," the Doctor realized, taking Mac's hand to pull her off.

Jenny shook her head, "Hold on!" she called after them, hurrying to follow them.

"We can't Jenny," Mac told her, "We need to find Clara."

"What happened to you? How long have you been like that?"

"Days?" the Doctor guessed, "Weeks. Don't know. Long story. I'll keep it short."

~8~

Short was never something to be associated with the Doctor, as he proved in spending nearly an hour recounting their tale to Jenny as they searched the numerous halls of the main factory trying to find Clara, "Poor Edmund must have come looking for us," the Doctor finished up, "And then fallen into a vat of the pure venom. Or was pushed. Didn't stand a chance."

"What is that stuff, though?" Jenny frowned.

"It's a poison," Mac told her, "If it's diluted enough it seems to act like a preservative. Gillyflower's been dipping the pilgrims in it."

"Process didn't work on us," the Doctor sighed, "Maybe because we're not human. We ended up on the reject pile."

"It happened to others also," Mac pointed out, that was how they'd found the place, "But I think we lived because we're aliens."

"Preserve them against what?" Jenny asked.

"Well, according to her, the coming apocalypse!" the Doctor imitated 'crazy' next to his head for her.

"'When the End of Days is come and judgment rains down upon us all...'" Jenny murmured.

"One of Gillyflower's sermons," Mac nodded, recalling the spiel they'd had to sit through to get in there.

"Madame will come looking for me," Jenny shook her head, realizing she'd wasted enough time right now, "We'd best get on."

"First we have to find Clara," Mac insisted, Clara was HER companion and she was not going to lose her this easily.

"But Clara's dead, isn't she?"

The Time Lords exchanged a look at that before the Doctor hesitated, "It's complicated."

"WE don't even know what's going on Jenny," Mac added, "But we have to find her, now."

"Come on," the Doctor took Mac's hand and tugged her down the stairs to the courtyard, if Clara wasn't in the factory still then she had to be in one of the homes.

"Are we talking about the same person?" Jenny wondered as Mac and the Doctor quickly peeked into the houses as they went, alternating and taking every other one to speed it up, "About that Clara?"

"We're really not sure Jenny," Mac told her.

"I couldn't see much from where I was," the Doctor remarked, "Neither could Kenzie, but we think she survived the process. She must be here somewhere."

"But Clara died," Jenny repeated, "The Ice Lady..."

"Again Jenny, different Clara and we REALLY don't know how this is happening," Mac repeated.

"Found her!" the Doctor called opening one of the doors and spotting Clara inside with another man standing behind her.

"Clara!" Mac breathed a sigh of relief and ran in to the bell jar she was stuck in. She looked around a moment before grabbing a fire poker from the chimney and smashing it against the glass to free her.

~8~

They'd rushed Clara back into the main factory, to one of the booths that the Time Lords had been cured in and set her up inside, sonicing the booth the moment it was closed, "Can she be revived, like you were?" Jenny looked at them in concern as they waited.

"She should," Mac nodded, standing on her toes to peer into the booth.

"Doctor…" Jenny suddenly called, a tense note to her voice that made them both look over to see that, down the hall, a number of pilgrims had appeared with weapons in hand.

"Oh, great," the Doctor rolled his eyes, "Great. Attack of the supermodels. Time for a plan," he turned to Mac as she began to search her pockets.

"Nah," Jenny grinned and started to pull her bonnet off, "This one's on me."

They watched as Jenny dropped her Victorian gown to reveal a catsuit under it for a moment before she strode towards the three male pilgrims that advanced first…and disposed of them rather quickly with a flip over her shoulder and an elbow to the face and a kick to the stomach.

"That's definitely a plan," Mac laughed as did the Doctor.

But he sobered quickly when the rest of the pilgrims raised their weapons, "Ok…time for a new plan."

The words had only just left his mouth when Strax came barreling down the hall, firing his laser gun at the humans, sending them scattering away back where they'd come from, Vastra hurrying after him.

"Quickly!" Vastra called, "Let's go!"

"We can't," Mac shook her head, moving back to the booth to check on Clara's progress.

"No, ma'am!" Jenny agreed, "We're not escaping! We've got to help the Doctor and Mackenzie with Clara!"

Vastra blinked at that and gave the Time Lords (mostly the Doctor) a look that clearly said 'What did you DO!?'

The Doctor just waved it off and soniced the booth once more, "Long story."

"What now, Madame?" Strax asked as he rejoined the group, having made sure that the humans had fled, "We could lay mimetic cluster mines."

"Strax…" Vastra sighed, rolling her eyes with exasperation, as though this were a common thing.

"Or dig trenches and fill them with acid."

"Strax!" Vastra huffed, "You're over excited. Have you been eating Miss Jenny's sherbet fancies again?"

"No."

"Go outside and wait for me until I call for you."  
"But, Madame..."  
"Go!"  
Strax actually pouted at that, much to the Doctor's amusement and stalked off with a, "I'm going to go and play with my grenades."

"Doctor?" Mac called and he looked back at the booth, quickly sonicing it as she stepped back.

He nodded, "Ok, I think she's about done," he opened the door, Mac stepping to his side to reveal Clara standing there, her eyes closed, "I know who you think she is, but she isn't. She can't be."

"I was right, then," Vastra smiled, "You and Clara have unfinished business."

Mac and the Doctor lunged forward as Clara nearly fell out of the booth and into their arms, waking her, "You ok Clara?" Mack asked her.

Clara blinked slowly, coming around, "Doctor? Mackenzie?"

"Hello," the Doctor grinned.

And then Clara noticed the lizard woman standing behind them with Jenny, "Hi?" she gave them a small wave and looked at the Time Lords, "What's going on?"

"Haven't you heard?" the Doctor laughed, using his accent, "There's trouble at t'mill!" before he dropped it and nodded back at Vastra, "She's a lizard."

"I think she got that Doctor," Mac rolled her eyes at that, "But right now we have to stop whatever Gillyflower's planning to do."

"We were gathering evidence," Vastra told them as they turned down the hall to head to the lift, "I believe I may know what has made this red poison. My people once ruled this world, as well you know. But we did not rule it alone. Just as humanity fights a daily battle against nature, so did we. And our greatest plague, the most virulent enemy was the repulsive red leech."

"Ooh!" the Doctor pushed the lift button, "The repulsive red leech! Nah. On balance, I think I prefer the Crimson Horror."

Mac shook her head and gave him a peck to stop him talking before she turned to Vastra, "And what is the red leech?"

"A tiny parasite," she told them, "It infected our drinking water. And once in our systems, it secreted a fatal poison."

"If it's been hanging around, lurking in the shadows, maybe it's evolved," the Doctor mused, "Or maybe it's had help."

"I've been thinking," Clara began, "The chimney..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Way past that now! Yucky red parasite from the time of the dinosaurs pitches up in Victorian Yorkshire. Didn't see that one coming!"

"Yeah, but the chimney..."

"But what's the connection to Mrs. Gillyflower? 'Judgment will rain down on us all...'" he spun around, thinking, "An empty mill."

"Mackenzie?" Clara sighed.

Mac nodded and reached out to grab the Doctor gently, kissing him a bit more firmly to shut him up so that Clara could talk, "Clara?" she gestured her on.

"A chimney that doesn't blow smoke."

The Doctor blinked at that, "Clever clogs."

"Missed me?" Clara grinned at them.

"Very much," Mac laughed and gave Clara a hug as the lift arrived and they all got in.

~8~

They'd realized rather quickly, upon seeing a rocket ship in the factory with other pilgrims bringing the poison into it, that Gillyflower was planning to poison the air and had quickly devised a plan to stop it all happening, but first they had to find out who Mr. Sweet was and what he might know of Gillyflower's plans. The time travelling trio was on their way to confront Gillyflower when they heard someone crying in one of the halls. They followed the sound, the Time Lords unable to bear someone crying, to see it was Ada, Gillyflower's daughter, sitting on a crate, weeping. They glanced at each other before they quickly entered the hall and moved to kneel before Ada, Clara standing behind them.

"Who's that?" Ada gasped, "Who is there?" they reached out and touched her arm, startling her as they lifted it to the Doctor's face and then Mac's, allowing the woman to recognize them from a similar act she'd done when she shackled them together, "You," she breathed, smiling, "It's you! My monsters," she used the term affectionately, "You've come back! But you're..."

"Warm?" Mac offered.

"Alive?" the Doctor suggested, before lowering Ada's hand, holding it still, "Thanks to you, Ada. You saved us both from your mother's human rubbish tip."

"So please, let us help you now," Mac continued, "Tell us what's upset you so?"

Ada sniffled, "She does not want me, monsters! I am not to be chosen. Perhaps it was my own sin, the blackness in my heart, that my father saw in me."

"That is utter rubbish," Mac put her hand on Ada's arm, "Ada there is no blackness in your heart at all."

"It is stupid, backwards nonsense, and you know it," the Doctor agreed, "You know it," he faltered at the end, reaching up to touch one of the horrible scars under Ada's eyes, Mac looking on solemnly, realizing what he had.

"What is it?" Clara asked, noting the looks they were giving each other, their attention to the scars.

"Who is that?" Ada looked in her direction.

"I'm...I'm a friend, a friend of theirs."

"Then you are fortunate, indeed. It isn't good to be alone."

"Ada," Mac began softly, "We need to know, to help save many lives, do you know who Mr. Sweet is?" she nodded, "Can you tell us?"

Ada shook her head, "Oh, dear monsters..."

"Please," the Doctor tried, "Tell us?"

"I cannot!" Ada sniffled, "Even now, I cannot! I cannot betray Mama."

The Doctor let out a long breath and looked at Mac, "Well, come with us then," he stood, helping Ada up, "There's something you need to know."

"You, Ada, have been lied to for a very, VERY long time," Mac told her solemnly, "And it is high time someone told you the truth.

~8~

The trio walked briskly into Gillyflower's office that night, not caring at all that they hadn't knocked, and it was good they had for Gillyflower was standing in front of a far too advanced control panel in her wall and spun around at the sight of them, "You do seem to keep turning up like a bad penny," she remarked to them, not seeming at all perturbed they'd caught her in the act of something.

"Force of habit," the Doctor shrugged.

"Can I offer you something? Tea? Seed cake? A glass of Amontillado?"

"No, thanks. We've had a skinful already, as you might say."

"Ha! Very funny."

"I'm the Doctor, this is Kenzie, and that's Clara," he pointed at them, "You're nuts, and we're going to stop you."

"I'm afraid Mr. Sweet and I cannot allow that," Gillyflower told them.

"What can't you allow?" Mac scoffed, "Us to stop you lot preserving the pilgrims with a diluted poison made from prehistoric leech venom? Why are you doing that anyway?"

"And when do we get to meet him, this silent partner of yours?" Clara stepped to Mac's side, "Why's he so shy?"

"Mr. Sweet is always with us," Gillyflower said with a sigh and a smile, patting her chest as she'd done the last time Mr. Sweet had been mentioned.

"You seem to have a very close relationship, you and your pal," the Doctor remarked.

Gillyflower chuckled, as though sharing a secret joke, "Oh, yes, Doctor. Exceedingly close. Symbiotic, you might say," she tore the top part of her black gown down to reveal a large red leech attached to her chest. It looked up at the change in light and air, turning to them, revealing razor sharp teeth lining its mouth before it reattached itself to Gillyflower who merely turned to sit on her sofa and feed it sugar.

"What is it?" Clara grimaced at the sight.

"A survivor!" Gillyflower cut in with a huff and a glare, "He has grown fat on the filth humanity has pumped into the rivers. That's where I found him."

"Very enterprising," even the Doctor looked green at the sight of it all.

"His needs are simple. And in return, he gives me his nectar."

"You mean his poison," Mac corrected, "My god have you any idea what that poison could do?" Gillyflower just grinned, "You do," she rolled her eyes, "Right, stupid question that was."

Gillyflower chuckled at that and got up, heading over to her control panel and pulling a lever, lighting up the chimney of the factory outside.

"Planning a little fireworks party, are we?" the Doctor asked dryly.

"You've forced me to advance the Great Work somewhat," Gillyflower shrugged, "But my colossal scheme remains as it was. My rocket will explode high in the atmosphere, raining down Mr. Sweet's beneficence onto all humanity."

"And wiping us all out!" Clara cried, "You can't!" she tried to step towards the woman but Mac held her back by a hand.

"My new Adam and Eves will sleep for but a few months before stepping out into a golden dawn," the woman clasped her hands together in a devout fervor, "Is it not beautiful?"

"It's horrific actually," Mac remarked, "You do realize that the Adams and Eves of old were later BANISHED from their garden and made to suffer yes? Or are you conveniently forgetting that part?"  
"Tell us about Ada, Mrs. Gillyflower," the Doctor cut in as Gillyflower moved to rant about the paradise she was trying to build.

"What?" Gillyflower blinked.

"Your daughter," Mac gave her a look but Gillyflower remained blank to the words.

"You _do_ remember your daughter?" the Doctor frowned at that, "Tell us about your daughter," he sat on the sofa, reaching out to take Mac's hand, knowing talk of daughters was difficult for both of them even more so to see what Gillyflower thought of Ada and what she'd done to her.

"How can you speak of such trivia when my hour is at hand?" Gillyflower scoffed, "The child is of no consequence."

"She's your DAUGHTER!" Mac snapped, nearly lunging at the woman had the Doctor's grip on her hand not tightened.

"Is that why you experimented on her?" he asked with a hard edge to his voice.

Clara's head snapped to look at him, "Experimented?"

"The signs are all there. The pattern of scarring. You used her as a guinea pig, didn't you?"

"God!" Clara gaped, horrified.

"Sometimes, sacrifices must be made," Gillyflower shrugged.

"Children are not meant to be sacrifices!" Mac cried.

"It was necessary!" Gillyflower defended, "I had to find out how much of the venom would produce an anti-toxin. To immunize myself! Don't you see? It was necessary!"

"Mama?" Ada's soft voice called and they turned to see her in the doorway where she'd been listening that entire time, the Time Lords knowing she wouldn't believe anything that hadn't come from her mother herself, "Is it...is it true?"

"Ada…"

"It is," she gasped, "It's true. True."

"Ada, listen to me," Gillyflower took a few tentative steps towards her daughter.

But Ada beat her to it, "You hag!" she started to furiously stalk towards her mother, swinging the small cane she used to guide her to reach her, "You perfidious hag! You virago! You harpy! All these years, I have helped you, served you. Looked out for you. Does it count for nothing? Nothing at all?" and the moment she reached her mother she lifted the cane and struck her with it.

"Stop, stop!" Gillyflower pleaded, lifting her arms to try and defend herself till Ada sobbed and stumbled back, leaving her mother to rest against a door.

"We need to stop the machine," Mac turned to the Doctor.

Clara grabbed a nearby chair just as the Doctor pulled out his sonic, "Hang on, I've got the sonic screwdriver!"

"Yeah?" Clara smirked, "I've got a chair!" she ran towards the control panel, throwing the chair at it, making it spark and flicker off as it got wedged in the controls.

"Brilliant!" Mac laughed even as Gillyflower cried out in horror beside them.

"Yeah, that worked," the Doctor smiled.

Clara brushed her hands off, "Just taking a leaf out of my pilot's book," she winked at Mac for her improvisation skills.

"I'm afraid your rocket isn't going anywhere, Mrs. G," the Doctor smirked at Gillyflower, putting the sonic away.

Gillyflower shot him a glare for a moment before turning to her sobbing daughter, "Please, come to me, Ada. My child," she reached out as Ada stumbled towards her and pulled her into a hug, "You have always been so very..." only to spin her to the side and hold a small revolver to her head, "Useful."

"Mrs. Gillyflower don't you dare!" Mac tried to approach her but the Doctor held her back.

"Please, Mama," Ada begged, crying, "No more. No more."

"And now, if you'll please forgive us," Gillyflower laughed, "We must be going. It is long past Ada's bedtime!" she leaned back and pushed Ada through the door, slamming it shut as the trio ran for the door but it locked behind her.

"Blast!" Mac huffed, spinning around to the Doctor, "We can't follow her or she'll shoot Ada!"

"She wouldn't!" Clara gaped.

"She would," the Doctor replied grimly, any woman willing to do what Gillyflower had done to Ada already would have no qualms with using the girl as a shield and a target. He spun around and grabbed another chair, lifting it over his head before he paused and turned to the girls, "Chairs _are_ useful!" he realized as they smiled and nodded, before he turned and threw it at the large window on the side of the room, Mac already running to the curtains and tying them together to make a rope for them to escape down.

~8~

The trio ran as fast as they could through the night, along the edge of the factory's courtyard, racing for the factory itself. They hurried in and raced towards the large chimney where they'd seen the rocket before, dashing up the stairs when they could vaguely hear Ada weeping and then see Gillyflower still holding her daughter hostage before a small power box in the wall.

"Just let her go, Mrs. Gillyflower!" the Doctor called, "Let Ada go!"

"Secondary firing mechanism, Doctor!" Gillyflower smirked, "Mr. Sweet and I are too smart for you, after all."

"Oh I doubt that," Mac scoffed, "Look, just let your daughter go!"

Gillyflower rolled her eyes, seeming more annoyed at their constant requests and shoved Ada away from her, sending her falling down the stairs before she cocked her gun at the girl.

"Shoot, if you wish, Mama," Ada wept, hearing the click, "It is of no matter, for you killed me a long time ago!"

The Doctor tried to move towards Ada, to help her up, but Gillyflower fired at her, forcing him back for a moment, forcing them to wait till she'd turned her attention back to the power box before they could get Ada to them.

"I'll labor night and day," Gillyflower began to sing, "To be a pilgrim!" she beamed as she pulled a lever and the rocket powered up and took off into the sky, "Now, Mr. Sweet, now the whole world will taste your lethal kiss!"

"She is completely crackers," Mac muttered, nearly making the others laugh at that, the woman really was.

"I don't think so, Mrs. Gillyflower," the Doctor merely smirked and snapped his fingers. They looked up to see two veiled figures appear on the landing above them, both holding the flask of poison between them. They threw their veils back to reveal Jenny and Vastra smiling down.

Gillyflower glared at them all, realizing that while the rocket was working, her poison and all that Mr. Sweet had given her to give to humanity would be gone, "Very well, then. If I can't take the world with me, you will have to do. Die, you freaks! Die! Die!" she lifted her gun at Jenny and Vastra, in that moment feeling THEY were the more responsible party as they had the poison.

However another voice rang out from the very top of the chimney, "Put down your weapon, human female!" Strax ordered and they could just barely make out his form hanging over the top of the chimney with his own advanced gun aimed at Gillyflower.

The woman retaliated quickly and fired up at him, forcing him to return the blasts, knocking her off balance as he fired at her feet and sending her toppling off the landing and down the center of the stairwell. Her body hit the floor with a sickening thud that made them all wince before rushing down the stairs to see her lying there. Mr. Sweet released her moments later and started to crawl away.

"No..." Gillyflower gasped, "No! Mr. Sweet? Where are you going? You can't leave me now, Mr. Sweet."

"What's it doing?" Clara asked them quietly.

"It's a parasite Clara," Mac reminded her, "It lives off its host, so when the host dies…"

"It dies."

"Unless it finds another host," the Doctor nodded, "She's no longer any use to it."

"Mr. Sweet!" Gillyflower continued to call out, till she heard the faint tapping of a cane, of Ada making her way down to the base of the factory with them, "Ada? Ada. Are you there?"

Ada took a deep breath before she made her way over to her mother, kneeling beside her, "I'm here, Mama."

"Forgive me, my child. Forgive me."

"Never."

Gillyflower smirked at that, "That's...my...girl…" she wheezed her last breath and her head lulled to the side just as the rocket exploded in the sky above them.

The Doctor whistled at the sight though Mac shook her head, "For all her bravado about being so clever, do you think she realized that having the rocket explode would have burned all the poison in it instead of releasing it as it was flying?"

"Doubt it," the Doctor remarked, they hadn't thought that the rocket would explode as a means to release the poison. They'd thought that it would have been filtered through it and sort of literally rained down on everything as it flew over them.

"What will you do with that thing?" Jenny asked, pointing to the leech that was still slowly making its way across the floor.

"Take it back to the Jurassic era, maybe," he shrugged, "Out of harm's way…" his words were cut off when Ada stood and used her cane to find the leech…before she brutally beat it to death with her cane, "On the other hand..."

"It's disturbing, isn't it," Mac mused.

"What is?" Clara glanced at her.

"All that poison, and those vats of the diluted forms," she glanced at them, "Imagine how long that thing's been leeched to her to produce all that," she shuddered at the thought, making them all grimace thinking on it as well.

~8~

The trio made their way to the TARDIS the next morning, Jenny, Vastra, Strax, and Ada behind them as they got to say goodbye, "Right, London," the Doctor smiled at Clara, Mac unlocking the door to let her in so she could change out of her gown while they finished up there, "We were heading for London, weren't we?"

"Was there any particular reason?" Clara wondered.

"No," he answered quickly, "No. Just thought you might... like it."

"Of all the places in all the Universe," Mac laughed, "The Doctor tends to stick to London."

Clara chuckled at that, "Yeah. Maybe had enough Victorian values for a bit," she told them, stepping into the box, leaving them some privacy.

The Time Lords turned, the Doctor moving his arm around Mac's shoulders before they headed over to Ada first, "Now, Ada," the Doctor began, "We'd love to stay and clear up the mess, but..."

"I know, dear monsters," she cut in gently, smiling, "You have things to do."

"Will you be alright?" Mac asked her, reaching out to take her hand.

Ada nodded, squeezing her hand back, "Oh, there are many things a bright young lady can do to occupy her time. It's time I stepped out of the darkness and into the light."

"You'll be just wonderful," Mac told her, squeezing her hand once more before they stepped away to Vastra, Strax and Jenny, the poison flask sitting beside them.

"Well, thanks a million, you three, as ever," the Doctor winked at them, "Have some Pontefract cakes on us. I love Pontefract cakes! Ooh," he grinned at Mac, "Let's go back to Lake District and see if they have some."

"You just want to go on another date," Mac shook her head at him.

"You're my Chosen," he shrugged with a wide smile, "Can you blame me?"

"Not at all," she smiled softly at him, "I know the feeling," she winked as well.

The Doctor beamed at that and turned to head off, "See you around!" he called back to the trio, "I shouldn't wonder."

"But," Jenny called, "That girl, Clara…" she waited till they paused and turned to her, "You haven't explained."

"No," he agreed, "We haven't."

"Because…" Mac sighed, shaking her head and shrugging, "We really DON'T know Jenny. We may never know."

"But we'd be interested to find out," the Doctor mused, before shaking himself from his thoughts and giving them a small wave goodbye before they stepped into the TARDIS and took off, they'd best get Clara back to the Maitlands now that they'd spent a bit too long in 1893.

A/N: My fault for the lateness this time, sorry! I slept right through my alarm lol. I know I didn't get to the second chapter yesterday, so we'll be getting it today :) This story will be over so soon! I can't believe it! O.O

I am really excited for the last few chapters, I can't wait ^-^ In a way I'm so sad that it'll be over, but on the other hand I really want to get to the specials and everything and just see how Mac's story wraps up :)

Some notes on reviews...

I can't say if we'll see Teddy just yet. I think I might add him into an episode or 2 of Series 8 depending if River's in Series 8 :) I had a small possible writing challenge about Teddy to see more of him, but it didn't seem very popular so I can't say if we'll see Teddy soon, it'll depend how Series 8 goes ;)


	18. Nightmare in Silver

Nightmare in Silver

Mac was torn as she stood in the TARDIS, watching the Doctor showing Artie, one of the two children Clara watched over, a few items on the console while Angie sat in a huff on one of the side seats, fiddling on her phone and looking like she was already bored to be there. Clara was pacing nervously and watching HER. She gave Clara a reassuring smile, she hadn't done anything wrong per say. She had been caught by the children, her trips to the past documented in various pictures from various times and the children had threatened to tell Mr. Maitland about it if she didn't take them on a trip with her. On that hand, it was understandable what Clara had done, on the other she knew Clara felt like she was overstepping her boundaries since she wasn't an official companion and even if she were she had no right to invite anyone to join them, SHE was the guest. Mac was torn for another reason though.

Children.

In the TARDIS.

It reminded her slightly of Amelia Pond, but equally it also reminded her of River. For a short time, during the month she'd been able to spend with her daughter, she'd had a hope that they'd survive and get her out of there and that they could be a normal family of time travelling Time Lords. That they'd be able to raise her in the TARDIS, see her grow up, teach her about their people…and it had all been torn away. And while she was very grateful to Amy and Rory for practically raising River for them, she still missed it, she'd missed so much and seeing children there…it just brought up those memories again.

"And…we're here!" the Doctor cheered, pulling her out of her thoughts as he pulled a lever, setting them down. It had been decided when Clara first brought up the fact that the children found her out and wanted an adventure, to take them to an alien amusement park, the biggest one in the universe actually.

He ran past her, grabbing her hand as he went, and tugged her to the doors, leading them all out onto what appeared to be the moon's surface. She knew, right off the bat, that the gravity was wrong, the Earth hanging in the blackness of space was too close, and the fact that there seemed to be a flat surface with some sort of scaffolding in the darkness to their side. This was a one of the rides, but the children didn't know that.

And it appeared that was how the Doctor wanted it as he grinned and pointed at the American Flag that was standing before them, "Well, here we are," the Doctor grinned, "Hedgewick's World," he threw his arms out and spun around to face them, "The biggest and best amusement park there will ever be and we've got a golden ticket!" he hopped onto a rock, "Eh, eh? Fun!"

"Doctor get off that rock!" Mac reached out to try and tug him down, but he surprised her by tugging her up with him, winding his arms around her tightly to keep her on the small rock with him.

"Having fun up there?" Clara laughed, seeing them struggling to balance but remaining on the rock nonetheless.

"Your stupid box can't even get us to the right place," Angie scoffed.

"Oi," Mac pointed warningly at her, "Watch your manners missy."

"This is, like, a moon base or something," Angie grumbled.

"And," Mac hopped off the rock despite the Doctor's pout, "It would be the PILOT's fault if the box ended up somewhere wrong, they're the one flying her," she didn't add that the TARDIS very well could get them to the wrong place all on her own, Angie didn't need to call the TARDIS stupid for that.

The Doctor hopped off the rock after Mac and pulled her back into his arms, winding them around her from behind, "It's not the moon," he told the kids.

Artie looked around, "Actually, I think it does look like the moon. Only dirtier."

"Hey, guys it's not the moon, ok? It's a Spacey Zoomer ride, or it was."

"Psst!" a voice hissed and they all spun around to see a man sticking his head through a doorway carved into a large rock, the light behind it making it all too obvious that the rock was fake, "'Scuse me," he grinned, "I don't suppose you happen to be my lift off planet? Dave's Discount Interstellar Removals?"

"'Fraid not," Clara shook her head.

"They were meant to be here six months ago. That's Dave for you, see, unreliable."

"Stay where you are!" a voice ordered from the other side of them, a woman shouting in the darkness.

"Oops," the man winced and ducked back into the rock a moment before a group of soldiers led by a blonde woman with quite red lipstick on ran into the light, turning the rest of the area on around them to reveal it truly was a sort of anti-grav ride, a studio and control booth were now visible where the darkness had been.

"Throw down your weapons and identify yourselves," the blonde woman ordered as Clara and Mac stepped in front of the children, Clara with Angie and Mac with Artie, as the Doctor held up the literal golden ticket he had for the park.

"No," he reassured her, "No weapons! Golden ticket! Spacey Zoomer?" he hopped in place, "Free ice cream?"

"Who are you?" the woman demanded, "This planet is closed, by Imperial order."

"How's this?" the Doctor whipped out the psychic paper just as Mac stepped up to try and show her UNIT badge, he was very amused by it, he could tell that Harriet Jones would have adored Mac for that habit.

"Oh," the blonde woman blinked, "Welcome, Proconsul. I wish they'd told us you were coming with your wife," she nodded deeply to Mac as well, the Doctor just shooting Mac a wide grin for it, "Any news of the Emperor?"

"Oh, the Emperor..." he nodded slowly, "No, no, none that you'd, er..."

"We pray for his return. If there is anything you need, my platoon is at your service."

"Right!" he pointed at her, "Rightyo. Well, carry on, Captain," he gave the woman a salute that she returned before she turned to lead her platoon off.

"Platoon, let's move out. On the double. Two, three, four! Two, three, four! Two, three, four!"

Mac waited till they'd walked off before she moved back to the rock the man had popped out of and knocked on it, "They're gone."

The door opened and the man grinned at them, "Sorry bout that. Uniforms give me the heebie-jeebies. Come on. They can't stop me being here, but they don't like it," he gestured for them to follow, stepping back into the hall that was connected to the doorway and led them off through the corridor and to a large warehouse through which could be seen the whole of the park…or what was left of it as it looked like a natural disaster had swept through it.

"Ha, ha!" the Doctor cheered anyway, "You see? I told you it was amazing!"

"Or it was once," Mac mused.

"It closed down," the man agreed, "Wish I'd known that before I landed here. But let me show you my collection. Come along, follow me, this way. This way in, come on. Welcome to my show..." the man smiled and gestured for them to follow him off again, Angie just rolling her eyes as she walked after them all.

~8~

To say that Mac was a bit shifty when the man, Webley he'd introduced himself as, led them to a rather dark and eerie room with wax replicas of people and aliens set up down the stairs from the entrance was quite accurate. The only thing normal in the room were the two sofas that were set up in the middle of it.

"Webley's World of Wonders!" Webley threw out his arms, "Miracles, marvels and more await you. I am impresario Webley. You see before you waxwork representations of the famous... and the infamous. Anybody here play chess?" he smiled at them, the Doctor's arm immediately lifting into the air as Mac smiled, he loved chess, but Webley pointed at Artie instead, "Perhaps you, young man?"

"Actually, I'm in my school chess club," Artie nodded as the Doctor pouted at that.

"You can play winner dear," Mac patted the Doctor on the chest.

"Ah, follow me," Webley grinned and turned to lead them into a room in the back where there was a chess table set up with an empty chair, something large hidden under a blanket set up across from it, "Now, let me demonstrate to you all the wonder of the age, the miracle of modernity. We defeated them all, a thousand years ago. But now he's back, to destroy you. Behold! The enemy!" he whipped the blanket off and Mac immediately grabbed Clara and Artie and pulled them down with her.

"Get down!" she cried.

The Doctor pulled Angie down too with his own cry of, "Cyberman!"

…but the Cyber merely lifted its head and did nothing else.

Webley chuckled at them, "No need to panic, my young friends. We all know there are no more living Cybermen. What you are seeing is a miracle, the 699th wonder of the universe. As displayed before the Imperial court, and only here to destroy you…at chess! Careful now. An empty shell," he showed them the Cyberman and the chess table being empty, "And yet it moves. How?"

The Doctor and Mac looked at each other hesitantly before stepping closer and trying to see if they could find any indication that the Cyber was still moving due to its robotic components. Typically it could still function without the organic parts, but this one really did seem to just be a shell...

"Magic?" Angie scoffed, hardly believing it.

But Webley grinned and pointed at her as though she might be right, "That might well be, young lady. A single penny wins you five Imperial shillings if you can beat this empty shell at chess."

"I haven't got a penny," Artie frowned, before thinking of something and pulling a small parcel from his pocket, "But I've got a sandwich!"

Webley considered it for a moment before nodding and taking the sandwich, "Alright, take a seat," he laughed, moving to set the board properly as Clara pulled out a seat so Artie could sit, "It is free of all devices," he opened a panel on the side of the table so that they could see it was empty, "And yet it has never been beaten. Would you like to make the first move, young man?"

Artie moved his pawn, the Cyber responding jerkily in moving his own, before Artie went to make a third move, "Oh, no, Artie," the Doctor tried to warn, "No, don't do that, it...it's a fool's mate."

But it was too late, the Cyber had already checkmated the boy.

"If you can tell me how it works," Webley spoke, taking a bite of the sandwich, "I'll give you a silver penny."

"I think..." Angie frowned, trying to work it out, "You do it with mirrors?"

"That would be a good guess," Mac smiled, "If I didn't feel someone breathing on my leg," she looked down at the chair she was standing beside, the chair the Cyber was on as she examined it and crouched down to pop open the back of it to reveal a small man cramped inside the chair.

"Hello," the man gave them a sheepish grin.

"Hi," Mac laughed.

The Doctor smiled, only to blink, "Hold on, you were breathing on my Chosen's leg?!"

Mac rolled her eyes and helped the man out, "It's not like he did it on purpose dear," Mac defended, "He didn't have much room in there."

"Thanks," the man smiled at her, "They call me Porridge," he stretched a bit, "Ah, it's good to be out of that box."

Webley sighed and turned to hand Angie the penny, "For you, Miss..." he plucked it from behind her ear, "An Imperial penny," he smiled and turned to lead them back into the main room, the Doctor pausing when he spotted what looked like a small bug scuttling up the wall quickly before disappearing in the cracks.

"I have not one but THREE Cybermen in my collection," Webley told them, pulling the Doctor's attention back to him as he hurried to rejoin them in the main room in time to see Webley pull another blanket off of some other Cybers, he and mac moving to examine them and make sure they were just the armor.

"Is that the king?" Angie asked, seeing a tall wax statue of a man in regal attire.

"Emperor," Porridge corrected a little too quickly for the girl not to notice, "Ludens Nimrod Kendrick, etc, etc, the 41st, defender of humanity, imperator of known space."

"He looks a bit full of himself," Clara remarked.

"Don't say things like that about the Imperial family, you can end up on the run for the rest of your life."

"I'd like to see them try it," Mac called over from where she'd disappeared behind the Cyber and stepped out past it again.

"Go on," Porridge turned to Webley, "If the kids want to ride the Spacey Zoomer, then I can operate the gravity console," he smiled at them as the kids grinned, eagerly following him off with Clara and the Time Lords, save Angie who lagged behind to compare her penny to the statue.

"Angie!" the Doctor called and she rolled her eyes before following them out.

~8~

Mac stood beside Clara, helping her take pictures of the children as they rode the ride, more like bounced as it was more an anti-grave bouncy castle of sorts. She glanced back at the Doctor as he soniced around, she knew he was looking for any of the other little bugs he'd spotted before and she was trying to keep Clara and the children distracted. Usually when children got too curious it was when they got into danger. The less interesting his quest for bugs was, the better.

"Did you like the ride?" Mac asked the kids as they finally settled on the ground a moment and walked over to the two women.

"I think that was the most fun I've had in my whole life," Artie beamed.

"It was...ok," Angie offered, though from the flush of her cheeks they could all tell she liked it more than she was letting on.

Artie just looked up at the two women, "I think outer space is actually very interesting."

"That's lovely Artie," Mac smiled at him, "I'm very pleased you're enjoying the trip."

"Right," Clara nodded, turning to lead the children towards the TARDIS, "Wonderful day out, but it's time to get the kids home."

"Yeah…um, no," the Doctor spun around, half-blocking the doors to the TARDIS, "Not actually ready to leave."

"Why not?"

"I dunno. Reasons."

"What reasons?"

"He saw an interesting insect before," Mac offered, "Wants to add it to his collection."

"He collects funny insects?" Clara blinked at that.

"You'd be surprised what he's collected over the years," Mac deadpanned.

The Doctor opened his mouth like he was going to argue that before closing it and nodding, thinking about some of those more eccentric items.

~8~

The Doctor smiled softly as he watched the two women getting the sofas set up for the children to sleep in and tucking them in for the night, "How long do we have to stay here?" Angie complained.

"Not long," the Doctor offered, "Have a nap. We'll wake you when we're ready to leave," he winked at them and moved to leave the room, shutting the lights off as he went.

"Are you both comfortable?" Mac looked between them as she stood, "Need any water? Food? Use the loo quickly? Want more lights? A story? A…"

"We're fine," Angie huffed, flopping back onto her makeshift bed and crossing her arms in annoyance.

"Thank you," Artie added, trying to cover for his rude sister.

"Sleep well," Clara offered.

"Good night," Porridge nodded as the two of them started to head out.

"Are you sure I can't get anything for you?" Mac asked, wringing her hands a bit as she fretted over them.

"We're fine," Artie nodded.

Suddenly the Doctor jumped back into the room with the sonic to his face and a shout of, "Don't wander off!" he chuckled as he made them jump, "I'm not just saying, 'Don't wander off,' I MEAN it. Otherwise you'll wander off, and the next thing you know, somebody's going to have to start rescuing somebody."

"From what?" Angie frowned suspiciously.

"Nothing you'll need to worry about," Mac promised, crossing her hearts.

"Yes, cos nobody needs rescuing from anything," the Doctor agreed, wincing, realizing that probably hadn't been the best thing to say before bedtime, "Don't wander off. Sweet dreams."

Mac shook her head as the children settled and followed the Doctor to just outside the room, "I'm going to stay here," she told him quietly, biting her lip a moment, "I don't feel right leaving the children alone while we go wander and investigate."

The Doctor let out a breath at that, but to be honest he'd been expecting something like that from her. He knew the guilt of what happened with River was still very fresh despite it being 300 years later, it was still a raw wound for him and he could agree this would be for the best. One of them to watch the children while the other went to investigate what was going on, "Be careful," he whispered.

She laughed a bit and gave him a peck for it, "I think I'M the one who should be saying that to YOU," she pointed out, her gaze going soft, "Please do though, be careful."

He nodded, "Cross my hearts," he promised, crossing them before kissing her again.

~8~

It was just as Mac suspected when she heard the sounds of Angie and Artie speaking, clearly neither of the children were going to sleep, not that she could blame them. The room they were in was rather creepy, even she felt that. And she didn't want them to feel frightened or to feel like they'd been left alone or abandoned or were in danger. So she slowly made her way out from the small side room she'd been in to see Angie was standing, trying to get reception on her phone.

"I HATE the future," Angie was muttering, "It's stupid. There's not even phone service."

"Well if you had been more polite," Mac cut in as she entered, "The Doctor could have fixed it so you got universal roaming."

"Can YOU fix it?" Angie turned to her.

"I might," she remarked, she really couldn't, not without a sonic, but Angie didn't need to know that. The girl might not be her child or her responsibility like she was Clara's, but if she could teach her some respect and manners then it would be worth it.

"So?" Angie held out the phone to her.

"So…" Mac pushed it back, "You should have thought about it before you decided to be Debbie Downer this trip," she crossed her arms, a small smirk on her face, "Had you been more polite to us and the TARDIS, you might have had universal roaming right now."

Angie huffed and half threw her phone onto a side table, "I'm out of here."

"Angie don't," Mac called.

"The Doctor said to not wander off," Artie agreed, still sitting on his sofa.

"He said that, and then _he_ wandered off," Angie countered.

"I don't think Clara would like that."

"She's not our mum."

"Angie!" Mac moved to go after the girl as she stomped out of the room.

"Please don't," Artie called, grabbing her wrist as she passed, "Please don't leave me here alone."

Mac bit her lip and looked between the two children, THIS was similar to why she always felt like the Doctor having 2 companions was a nuisance, "Angie, stay close," Mac pleaded, "Don't go any further than the hallway, ok?"

Angie just waved a hand behind her that she heard the woman but Mac highly doubted that the girl would listen.

She sighed and sat down next to Artie, the boy making room for her and clutching his blanket close, not liking all the figures around the room. She reached out and took his hand to calm him, wondering idly if it made her a bad person that perhaps, if anything did happen to Angie (none threatening, non deadly, just a scare or so) it would teach her a lesson? No, that was wrong to think, the girl shouldn't have left and she shouldn't have let her go. But what could she do without abandoning Artie? She knew the Doctor had done it once before at the very least, with Mickey Smith and Rose in a parallel world, he'd gone with Rose instead of Mickey…even though both were going to see relatives that were long dead, he'd picked Rose and she didn't want Artie to feel like he was being left out. He was already outnumbered as it was.

"Um…" Artie began, "Do…do you think we could turn on the lights a bit?"

Mac smiled, "Of course," she told him, running her hand through his hair a moment to calm him before she got up and moved over to the light switch, flicking it on, making Artie breath out a sigh of relief…

Until Mac let out a gasp and he looked up to see one of the Cybermen things was right behind her (something that shouldn't have happened because the Cybermen were in a different area of the room before) with one hand gripping her around her middle, clamping her arms down, and another hand over her mouth to keep her screaming.

That didn't stop HIM though from screaming when a Cyberman grabbed him as well…

~8~

Mac struggled as she stood between two Cybermen in the middle of their base, a large metal room with a few doors around, a circular table set up in the middle with lights on it. The Cybers had a grip of her arms and were standing with Angie and Artie on either side of them. She'd tried to stop them getting the children, but it was useless. The Cybers were holding her as extra leverage for the Doctor, not implanting her with a neural relay like they had the children to control her, knowing her system wasn't as compatible as theirs were. She'd seen Webley there, appearing half converted, Cybernetic components on his face and his one arm and she was NOT going to let them do that to Angie and Artie either, not now not ever. She didn't know how they'd managed to catch Angie though, she could assume the girl had been wandering the halls instead of staying where she'd told her to, but that was all in the past now.

Now she just had to worry about making sure the Doctor didn't show up there to save the day because she knew that was who this whole trap was for. They had all been scanned by the Cyberman when they were in the chess room, their brainwaves and other things. Hers were remarkable, as was ordinary for her people, but the Doctor's were more so, he'd seen more and he'd done more with his life, he had a wider perspective than she did, they wanted HIM more than her. So if she could just work out a way to get out of the hold of the Cybers, she could try and block all teleports before…

"Hey, that really shouldn't have worked," the Doctor appeared in a flash of a teleport's light, the sonic in hand.

"Doctor!" Mac huffed, sounding more exasperated than thrilled to see him, which she was, he was playing right into the Cybers' hands!

"Kenzie!" he rushed over to her, stopping short when he saw Angie and Artie and soniced them quickly to see their results.

"Not just us," Mac sighed, nodding behind him.

He spun around to see the partially converted Webley standing there, "Webley?"

"We needed children," Webley stated unemotionally, "But the children had stopped coming. You brought us children. Hail to you, the Doctor, savior of the Cybermen!" he saluted the Doctor, pounding his fist to his chest, "As the battle raged between humanity and the Cyberiad, the Cyber-Planners built a Valkyrie, to save critically damaged units and bring them here and, one by one, repair them."

"All the people who disappeared in the park," Mac told him, "They've been using them for parts."

"We've upgraded ourselves," Webley continued, "The next model will be undefeatable."

"Nothing's undefeatable," the Doctor shook his head, moving to stand in front Webley and turning, trying to lure him and his attention away from Mac and the children.

"We needed children to build a new Cyber-Planner. A child's brain, with its infinite potential, is perfect for our needs. But we no longer need the children. The Cybermites have been scanning YOUR brain, Doctor. It's quite remarkable. More so than the female's," he added.

"Also completely useless to you," he reminded the man, "Cybermen use human parts. I'm not human. Neither is Kenzie. You can't convert non-humans."

Webley seemed to nearly smirk at that, if Cybermen were capable of smirking, "Well, that was true a long time ago. But we've upgraded ourselves. Current Cyber units use almost any living components. And we have assessed through observation the best way to garner your cooperation in assisting us with the creation of a new Cyber-Planner."

The Doctor frowned, "And what's that?"

Before Webley could even speak, one of the Cybers holding Mac's arm turned and pressed its hand to her temple, making her cry out in pain.

"Kenzie!" he bolted over towards her, the Cybers dropping her, allowing him to see the Mites had been pressed to her head and were now starting to latch onto her skin, sinking in, connecting to each other, making her hunch over as they dug in, before she panted and fell back onto her bum, a web of metal stretching across her let temple.

"You see Doctor," Mac spoke, flexing her hands as she eyed them, making him frown at the intonation of her voice, the way she was speaking…it was far too familiar, "A willing host is far more efficient," she looked up to him, "And you would do anything for your beloved Mac, wouldn't you?" she smirked.

Before wincing and hunching forward, drawing her knees up to her chest and gripping her head, "Leave him alone!" she shouted, sounding like her normal self.

"Why should I?" another voice that sounded like Mac's but wasn't spoke through her, "Your brain has a remarkable processing speed and his would be even better even if he wastes all of it with trivial things like recreational mathematics!"

Mac winced and closed her eyes, feeling the Doctor's arms around her, "Stop it," she whispered to herself, "Just stop it, he won't help you! He will NEVER help you. Get out of my head!"

"Oh stop using your mouth and start using your brain," Mac hissed at herself, the Doctor closing his eyes as he realized what was happening, who the Cyber-Planning version of her was, her last self, he could hear it now, the bitterness and the coldness in her tone, it was JUST how the last her had spoken to him at first, it was latching onto a part of her past that was fueled by her anger and resentment and desire to hurt him, "I don't want YOUR brain, I want HIS."

"You shouldn't," he tried to joke, "Kenzie's much more adaptable than me," he was NOT telling them to keep Mac and not take him, he was trying to buy them time. He could do it, he could work out how to get the mites out of her brain, but he knew they'd try to use her to manipulate him.

"Oh DO shut up," Mac snapped, before stiffening.

He swallowed hard and looked down, "Kenzie?"

Mac just smirked, "Hardly," she gave him a cold look and pushed away, standing up and grimacing at her attire before reaching up and pulling her headband off, starting to pull her hair into a bun, reaffirming that it WAS the last her they were tapping into to try and manipulate him. This Mac would never wear her hair like that.

He knew why they'd done it too, that was the most angry and bitter Mac, the one most like a Dalek and, by extension, most like a Cyberman as well.

"Where's Kenzie?" this wasn't right, this…the way she was acting. Only moments ago Mac had been fighting her, two different people speaking.

"Ooh the little girl's gone and run away," she smirked, "Hidden behind a mental block, but to keep it going she had to seal it shut with her in it."

The Doctor let out a breath at that, torn between feeling relieved she and the majority of her thoughts were safe, but alarmed because now…his Kenzie was trapped away from him and the only thing he had left was the Cyber-Mackenzie.

"Pity," Mac sighed, "I was so hoping to integrate her into the Cyberiad as a Cyber-Planner, but she's fighting me."

"Well she's always been a fighter," the Doctor stood, eyeing the Cyber-Mackenzie warily, "And she'll fight you too."

"I highly doubt that," the Cyber-Mackenzie scoffed, "She's run and hidden away," she pouted, "I suppose it makes sense though, she is YOUR Chosen after all, if she learned how to run and hide from anyone it would be from YOU," she spat, "Perhaps I ought to erase all that," she mused, "It'll be so difficult to focus with all that rage and heart break. I need this mind clear to become the most efficient Cyber-Planner, rewrite the neural interface and all. She might even find herself pleased I've erased all that time she had to spend with you," she eyed the Doctor, "I can't see what she sees in you, leaving her in heartbreak for centuries, turning your back on her," she paused to consider that, "Will you turn your back on her now that I am her?"

"Never," her said, his jaw clenched, his hands in fists, "I WILL get her back."

"Oh but not before I'm done with her," the Cyber-Mackenzie smirked, "You see first, I'm going to break down this ridiculous mental block, and then I'm going to download everything she knows about the Time Lords, yes," she nodded, "I DO know you're Time Lords now, and then I'll erase every other detail from her mind. And the best part is, there isn't a thing you can do to stop me because if you hurt me, you hurt her."

"You forget, she CAN fight back," the Doctor warned, "She could trigger a regeneration at any time, burn all those Cyber-widgets from her mind including you and free herself."

"Oh but she'd have to be free to do it first and she's still in hiding," she laughed.

"I can stop you," the Doctor tried again, "You said before you wanted ME, you wanted to control me so do it," he held out his arms, "You tell me what you want me to do, and I'll do it, but you have to free Kenzie and the children first."

"As though I'd trust you," the Cyber-Mackenzie shook her head, "I trust you no more than she did."

He winced, THAT struck a nerve, to be reminded of that time. He took a deep breath and steeled himself to do what he had to, "Fine, then you leave me no choice," he held up the sonic, "One flick from this and I disable the Cyber components attached to Kenzie. You die."

"And she dies too," the Cyber-Mackenzie frowned, "You wouldn't."

"I would," he warned, "I love Kenzie with all my hearts, but I know her, she wouldn't want to live this life, live a slave to you or live trapped in her own mind. She would WANT me to do this, and there is nothing I wouldn't do for her."

"Then we are at a stalemate," she murmured, "You use that, you kill your Chosen. I leave her and you kill me."

"How about a chess match then," the Doctor offered, "You vs. me, I win you let Kenzie and the children go…and you get me instead. I will willingly let you into my head. You win and you can stay in Kenzie, keep the kids and…and you still get me. Because I won't leave her."

The Cyber-Mackenzie frowned and eyed him, "Why would you offer a match in which either scenario sees me the victor?"

"Kenzie free makes ME the victor," he countered, "Her being free is all the prize I need, so long as I know she's safe, I don't care what happens to me."

It was a trap, one he was hoping she'd fall for, he just needed to tempt her, make her agree, stall. He just needed time, time and a moment with the REAL Mac.

The Cyber-Mackenzie just smirked, "You are truly a fool," she remarked but held out a hand to him to shake.

~8~

The chessboard had been set up on the small circular table, the Doctor on one side, the Cyber-Mackenzie on the other, "You are going to lose," she said easily, making a move.

"The game has just started," the Doctor disagreed, moving a white piece of his own.

"You know, it is interesting that there's no record of you in my databanks," the Cyber-Mackenzie mused, "Maximum erasure leaves a gaping hole you now. It is easier at times to track back what is missing than what is actually there."

"Good point," the Doctor smirked, "I'll be sure to have Kenzie do something about that when I win," he made another move.

"Do you truly think you can win?" she scoffed, "A stupid old Doctor from Gallifrey?"

"I can and I will," he nodded, "I know things you don't, things I'm quite certain Kenzie is doing a superb job keeping from you. For example, did you know...very early versions of the Cyber operating system could be seriously scrambled by exposure to things, like gold or cleaning fluid? And what's interesting is, you're still running some of that code."

"And?" she shook her head, "You are trying to give ME a lesson about my own species?"

"Not at all," he smirked, "I was trying to give you fair warning."

"Warning about what?"

"This!" he cried, reaching out quickly and slapping the golden ticket onto Mac's face as he tugged her forward by the wrist he'd grabbed as it moved to take a pawn, holding it there as she shuddered, "Kenzie?" he whispered, hoping it had worked.

"Oh thank god," she breathed, opening her eyes to look at him, "I'm trying to keep her out…"

"I know," he hurried around to hug her tightly, "I know, but we have to hurry, I need to get the children to Clara, I need to get us all out of here before the Cyber-Planner works out a code around the gold, we can't stay here."

"I know," she swallowed hard, "And Doctor," she called as he tried to gather the chessboard, "You know what will happen, don't you?" she whispered.

He swallowed just as hard and nodded, a hint of tears in his eyes, "I do."

"Good," she gave him a weak smile, "Don't…don't let her know," she warned.

"I won't," he swore.

She nodded taking a breath and turning to get the kids and even Webley out of there while he gathered the pieces and the board.

~8~

The Doctor kept his hand locked firmly in Mac's as they hurried down a path of the park that night, Webley and the children following obediently behind them. They reached a giant castle, a comical one, that the sonic had led them to, when soldiers swarmed out. The Doctor recognized them as the platoon the blonde woman had been leading. He'd explained to Mac on the rush over that he and Clara had found Angie in the barracks, that a Cyberman had attacked and taken Angie and he'd left Clara in charge of the platoon, had told her to get somewhere safe till he could get them all back to her. She hadn't wanted to leave Clara alone, but she knew that her staying with the children was something Clara appreciated, though she doubted very much that she'd be pleased with it now that the children were in danger. She doubted the platoon would be happy either because as soon as the Cyber-Planner came back, she'd know where the remaining humans were camped out.

"Don't shoot, don't shoot!" the Doctor cried, stepping before Mac, "We're nice! Please, don't shoot!" he let out a breath when he spotted Clara rushing over, "Hey, Clara, you haven't let them blow up the planet. Good job."

"Did you get the kids?" Clara asked, "Are they all…" she trailed off when she spotted Mac and the circuits on her face and the gold foil sticking off of it, "What's going on?"

Mac sighed, "I'm sorry Clara," she told her, "The Cybers took Angie and Artie and implanted a relay to control them," she nodded back to the kids.

"Oh my god," Clara rushed over to them, seeing that they seemed ok for now.

"Really not quite controlled," the Doctor tried to help, "More like a walking coma and…"

"Don't try to help dear," Mac cut in gently.

"And what about you?" Clara pointed at Mac's face.

"One of their Cyber-Planners tried to take me over, they um…they're close," she warned, "I can only keep them from taking over when I've built a wall around my mind but it's like they've got control of me like that. Right now though, I've sort of done the reverse."

"Please tell me you can wake them up and fix all this," Clara looked between them.

"Hope so," the Doctor sighed.

"Oh it gets worse," Mac winced, "There's a Cyber ship out there that's been repairing all the Cybermen, there's an army of them and they'll all be on their way here the moment the Cyber-Planner finished working its way around the gold," she pointed to her face.

"Great," Clara let out a breath.

The Doctor shook his head, "Right now we need to get Kenzie into the castle and um, tied up…"

"Doctor what you and Mackenzie do in your spare time…"

"Clara!" the Doctor flushed red.

"He means that the Planner will try to attack," Mac laughed, though she was blushing as well, "She won't be very happy that the Doctor got to speak to me without eavesdropping and she might attack."

"Right," Clara nodded, "Go," she nodded to the castle.

The Doctor squeezed Mac's hand and tugged her on, Clara getting the children and Webley to follow.

~8~

"Is that ok?" the Doctor asked as he finished tying Mac up to a chair in the throne room, leaving her arms free, with the chessboard set up before them.

"Should be," Mac nodded, swallowing hard, not wanting to pull the gold off.

"Are you ready?" he looked at her.

"Not really," she admitted, taking a breath and grabbing his wrist as he moved to pull the gold off, "Doctor I just…I wanted to say," she smiled at him sadly, "I love you, so much. I really, really do."

He nodded, tears in his eyes as well, "I love you too Kenzie, more than anything."

Clara frowned as she looked between them, she understood, vaguely, that the Doctor had made some sort of bet over the chess match, either way it seemed like he would lose himself to the Cybers. If he won though, he'd get Mac and the children back.

Mac took another breath, "Ok…good luck," she smiled up at him.

"Oh tosh," he tried to wave it off, tried to joke, offer her a smile before the Cyber took her over again, "I'll win, don't worry."

"I highly doubt that," the Cyber-Mackenzie scoffed as he pulled the gold off, a haughty quality to her voice that had Clara frowning, "You've only got barely a 25% chance of winning against me. You should have made better moves at the beginning, but then again, you never were very good at looking ahead or thinking of consequences were you Doctor?"

"Doctor…" Clara frowned, "Is that…"

"Oh look, it's the human girl," the Cyber-Mackenzie glanced at her sparingly, "You're not nearly as interesting as they make you out to be. Honestly, some impossible girl you are."

"What?" Clara blinked, "Impossible what?"

"Ooh dear," she smirked, "Seems they've kept more secrets from you, haven't they? It matters not now though, we'll strip you down for spare parts as equally as the others, then build a spaceship and get the hell off this planet. You will NEVER stop us. All the others are waking in their units right now."

"Stop it," the Doctor cut in, moving to sit before the Cyber-Mackenzie, "Finish the game."

The Cyber-Mackenzie rolled her eyes but made a move.

"Why am I the impossible girl?" Clara whispered as she moved to the Doctor.

"Clara, bit busy right now," the Doctor whispered back, "Kenzie'll explain later. Now please," he glanced at her, "Go out there and rally the troops."

Clara sighed but turned and headed out of the room, leaving the Doctor and Mac alone to their match. It was only a few moves later that the Cyber-Mackenzie started to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" the Doctor asked, making a move.

"The army awakes," she smirked, "And you shall have no chance for survival, not your little platoon and certainly not in this match."

"We'll see," the Doctor reasoned.

"You truly think they stand a hope?"

"Humans are the most indomitable species there is," he remarked, "And, when it's something that I care about, that I love, I DON'T fail," he looked at her, "You may find that YOU are the one that will lose."

"We'll see," the Cyber-Mackenzie mocked, making another move.

~8~

The Doctor tried his hardest not to wince as he heard the sounds of a battle going on below in the courtyard. The Cybers had arrived, they were laying siege to the castle, Clara was out there, and he was stuck inside, the chess match nearly finished. HE was nearly finished. He kept his eyes on Mac as much as he could, and he knew…he just needed a few more minutes, just a few more, and it would be over.

The Cyber-Mackenzie smirked, looking at the board, "I believe we're nearly at an end. Surprising that you held out so long, you don't strike me as particularly bright."

He just looked at her, "You seem a bit over confident."

"Am I?" she scoffed, "Look at the board, if you take my bishop you might make it a few more moves. You could also sacrifice your queen and I'll throw you a bone, do that and I'll give you the children. Either way, 5 moves tops and you're check mated. You'll lose."

The Doctor nodded, considering that and knew that the five moves would go by too quickly, so he moved the queen, "Take my queen," he told her, shocking her, "And give me back the children."

"And there it is," the Cyber-Mackenzie shook her head, "Emotions. They make you weak Doctor. Do you see how pitiful you are? All the mistakes you've ever made in your entire life were based in those emotions of yours. And now you've lost the game!"

"Kids! Back! Now!" he glared at the Cyber-Mackenzie, turning only when he heard a thump to see Angie and Artie sink to their knees, the relays falling off, turning back when the Cyber-Mackenzie took his queen.

"All this over children," the Cyber-Mackenzie sneered, "And it was a waste, they'll die just like every other one," she blinked, "Just like all the children your beloved Chosen has cared for that YOU failed to help her protect. Bravo Doctor," she clapped, "I see why she despised you so."

The Cyber-Mackenzie turned to Webley who started to jerkily walk towards the children, just as Porridge ran into the room with a large black box, clearly a bomb. He set it down and rushed over to help.

"Welcome to Webley's World Of Wonders, children," Webley began, "Now presenting delights, delicacies...and death!"

The Doctor leapt up and flashed the Cyber-Webley with the sonic but the man hadn't been lying when he'd said their tech had been upgraded, the sonic hardly did a thing.

Luckily Porridge had another idea, he ran at Webley and grabbed the man by the leg with a hand pulsar, a glove with an electrical pulse embedded in it, and sent a shock up him. Webley kicked the man away but the cyber components began to spark, short circuiting him.

"Angie, are you, ok?" the Doctor looked at her as she nodded, seeming more aware than Artie was, "Just look after Artie, ok?" he turned back to the Cyber-Mackenzie as Angie tended to her brother, "Your move, you still need to win the game," he looked at her intently, seeing a swirling in her eyes that the woman appeared unaware of, and knew he had to stall just a tiny bit longer, just a few more moments, "But you should know…sacrificing my queen was the best possible move I could have made. The Time Lords invented chess. It's our game. And you have no idea of the secret move, the move that'll give ME mate in three moves."

"Which is what?" the Cyber-Mackenzie glared.

"What, you can't work it out? Call yourself a chess-playing robot?"

"What is it?"

"You figure it out! Or don't you have the processing power? Hmm?"

"Stop baiting me Doctor and TELL me," the Cyber-Mackenzie demanded, "What move?" but he just smirked, so she grit her teeth, "I'm using the processing of three million Cyberbrains, you really think we won't solve it?"

"That's cheating!" he cried, just a few more moments…

"Hardly," she scoffed, "Just using the resources at hand," she blinked, and frowned, "There is NO way to get to mate in three moves."

"Oh but there is," he nodded, standing and starting to back away.

The Cyber-Mackenzie put her hands on either side of the board and stood, "And what's that?"

He smiled sadly seeing the swirling in her eyes consuming them, her eyes turning a different color, "I never said it was MY secret move."

The Cyber-Mackenzie blinked before stumbling back, though her limbs seemed stiff, "No…NO!" she cried, looking at her hands and arms as a gold-yellow energy began to drift off them.

"I DID warn you," he whispered, watching, his hearts breaking, as Mac regenerated in front of him.

"That's cheating!" the Cyber-Mackenzie cried.

"Time Lords love to cheat death," was all he could say before the Cyber-Mackenzie threw her head back, the energy consuming her, burning the Cyber components off as Clara ran into the room with another soldier, stopping short with a gasp at the regeneration going on before her.

The Doctor ran forward as the energy faded, and grabbed Mac as she stumbled out, the metal falling off her face in ashes. He reached out and touched her cheek, slowly lifting her head up to look at him, staring just a bit at the new her.

She was older.

There were slight wrinkles to her face, her hair was still reddish, but it had lightened to a strawberry blonde instead of the brilliant ginger it had been. She seemed slightly shorter, a little more curvy, her hair curly now.

"Kenzie?" he whispered, stroking her cheek, waiting for her to open her eyes and look at him, curious to what color her eyes would be now, "Kenzie, sweetheart, you need to open your eyes now. I know you're tired," he smiled, thinking distantly of how she'd practically been dragged along the last time she'd regenerated, "But you have to hang in just a little longer. Can you open your eyes for me?"

Kenzie's face scrunched, her lips pursing slightly in discomfort before her eyes blinked open, they were brown now, like an amber color, like…whiskey but just slightly darker.

"Hello," he whispered at her.

"Hi," she cleared her throat, "Did it work?"

He nodded, "Yeah, the widgets are gone."

She took a breath and he helped her straighten up.

"Cyber-Planner's gone then?" Clara called, looking at Mac oddly, trying to absorb all that had happened. The Time Lords had mentioned regeneration a time or two, but to see it happen…she knew it was Mac, but it wasn't her Mac but it was still Mac and…it was just odd.

"Yes," Mac nodded, "It's gone."

"It's been redistributed across the 3 million Cybers outside," the Doctor added, "And about to wake them up, kill us and start constructing a spaceship," he hurried over to the bomb, "Clara I need the remote for this…"

"Yeah," Clara winced, "About that," she gave them a sheepish smile, "One of the Cybers grabbed it away from me and rushed it outside."

"Oh dear, oh dear," Mac sighed, biting the inside of her cheek, "Well there must be a fallback voice activation then," she reasoned, "Bombs of the Cyberiad class often come with a failsafe like that."

"The Captain," one of the soldiers who came with Clara called, "But she's dead."

"I think you should ask Porridge," Angie remarked.

"Why?" Clara frowned.

"Well, he is the Emperor. I bet HE knows the activation codes," they all turned to Porridge who looked down at the ground, "Oh, come on, it's obvious. He looks exactly like he does on the coin and on the waxwork, except they made him a bit taller, but...look, am I the only one paying attention to ANYTHING around here?"

"You are full of surprises," Clara smiled at her, before looking at Porridge, "Porridge?"

"She's right," he sighed.

"You know the code?" Mac asked.

"You can save us?" Clara smiled.

"We all die in the end," he shrugged, "Does it matter how?" he watched as the Doctor set the bomb down before him, "I don't want to be Emperor. If I activate that bomb, it's all over."

"And if you don't, three million Cybermen will spread across the galaxy," the Doctor told him, "Isn't that worth dying for?"

"Doctor..."

"Three million Cybermen!"

"The bomb, the throne, it's all connected," Porridge explained, "I just have to say, 'This is Emperor Ludens Nimrod Kendrick, called Longstaff the 41st, the defender of humanity, imperator of known space. Activate the Desolator,'" he looked at the bomb as it activated, "It'll blow in about 80 seconds. Easily long enough for the Imperial Flagship to locate me from my identification, warp-jump into orbit, and transmat us to the State Room," he took a breath and closed his eyes, all of them looking around as the room shifted around them and suddenly…

They were in a rather warm, amber colored room on the imperial spaceship, a light orange with royal purple accents. There were two women at control panels, a throne on a small platform, with large windows around them through which the planet below was visible.

"Oh, yeah!" the Doctor looked around, "Nice ship. Bit big. Not blue enough," he hurried over to Porridge, "Listen, there is a large blue box at coordinates six ultra 19P. Kenzie and I need it transmatted up here right away."

"If you wouldn't mind," Mac added with a pleading smile.

Porridge nodded, "Right," he glanced back at one of the women by the control panels, "Did you get that?" the woman nodded and got to work, the TARDIS appearing n the corner of the room moments later.

"Thank you Porridge," Mac smiled, before glancing over at the children and Clara, "You may want to step back a bit Clara," she warned.

"Yes," Porridge agreed as Clara led the children back slightly, "That's that in…76, 77, 78, 79..." a moment later the planet exploded, nearly shaking the ship, "Farewell, Cyberiad. You know..." he sighed as they joined him by the throne, "It was GOOD to get away. Good to be a person and not to be lonely or Emperor of 1,000 galaxies, with everybody waiting for ME to tell them what to do."

"Can't you run away again?" Artie asked.

"They'll be keeping a close eye on me this time. That's what happens when you're Emperor, loneliest job in the Universe."

"You don't have to be lonely," Clara told him warmly, making the Time Lords smile at her caring.

"I don't," Porridge blinked and smiled, before turning to Clara and getting down on a knee, "Clara... will you marry me?"

"What?" Clara gaped at him, much like the Time Lords were.

"He said..." Artie began.

"She heard what he said," Angie hissed.

Porridge just smiled at Clara, "You're smart and you're beautiful, and I've never met anyone like you before. And being Emperor won't be as hard if you're by my side. And you'd rule 1,000 galaxies."

The Doctor quickly hurried over and leaned down, "This sounds like an actual marriage proposal, Clara, tricky. Now, if you want my advice..."

"You," Clara pointed at the Doctor, "Not one word. Mackenzie," she turned to Mac, "Control your boy," she joked, before turning to Porridge as Mac tugged the Doctor back, "Porridge, I...don't want to rule 1,000 galaxies…" she told him hesitantly, but honestly.

Porridge nodded and sighed, "Yeah. Silly of me."

"I'm really sorry."

"But that's stupid," Angie grumbled, "You could be queen of the universe. How can you say no to that? When someone asks you if you want to be queen of the universe, you say, 'Yes.' You watch. One day, I'LL be queen of the universe."

"Aim for the stars Angie," Mac laughed at that.

"Of course, I could have you all executed," Porridge remarked, "Which is what a proper Emperor would do."

"Ooh dear," Mac smiled, not at all believing he'd do it.

The Doctor didn't seem quite so reassured as he frowned at that, "You're not actually going to do that, though, are you..." he trailed off, seeing Porridge smile, "Oh, you're..." he laughed, "Hey."

"Go on," Porridge waved them off, "Get out of here, all of you, before I change my mind."

The Doctor wound his arm around Mac's waist and headed for the TARDIS with Angie and Artie and Clara after them, Clara pausing to give Porridge a salute before they entered the box and disappeared.

~8~

"Thank you for having me," Artie shook the Doctor's hand vigorously moments after they set the box down outside the Maitland home, "It was very interesting."

"Our pleasure," the Doctor smiled, "Thank you for coming."

"I'm glad you had a good time Artie," Mac crouched down to hug him instead.

"Now," the Doctor clapped his hands and pointed at Angie, "I've got something for you," he turned to hurry around the console, "A little birdie named Kenzie told me your phone got eaten by Cybermites."

"Sorry about that," Mac offered, she hadn't noticed the girl's phone being eaten by the mites till she'd turned the lights on in Webley's room.

"Ah," the Doctor picked up something and turned to the girl, "It's not from us, it's from the TARDIS. Ah! New phone," he handed her a new mobile.

"Now what do we say Angie?" Mac gave her a look.

"Thanks!" Angie smiled.

"You're welcome," the Doctor and Mac chorused.

"Sorry I said this box was stupid," she added, shaking both their hands before heading out with her brother.

"Bye!" the Time Lords waved at them.

"Bye!"

"Thanks, Clara," Artie added, "Thanks, Clara's friends!"

"Thank you as well," Clara smiled at them.

"What for?" Mac shook her head.

"Kids' day out, getting us off the planet alive, whatever you were doing with the Cybermen..." she shrugged, "Good night," she gave them a small salute and walked towards the doors, "See you next Wednesday."

"Well...A Wednesday, definitely," the Doctor agreed, "Next Wednesday, last Wednesday, one of the Wednesdays," he sighed as Clara stepped out of the door.

"She certainly is an impossible girl," Mac laughed, "I don't think I've seen a human take that quickly to regeneration before."

"Shall we find out what she is?" the Doctor turned to her, smiling softly.

"We shall," Mac laughed, "But um…there's one thing I want to find out first."

"And what's that?"

"What do I look like?" she smiled before turning to hurry off into the TARDIS to see what she looked like…and perhaps get a new set of clothes, the ones she was wearing seemed a bit young for her.

A/N: Regeneration! O.O I wanted a sort of parallel with WOM, like a small parasite infecting her and causing the regeneration :) For a reference, I see the 9th Mac to be something like Lea Thompson but with lighter hair ;) I'll be posting her new theme song with the last chapter of this story :) We'll see more of her personality to come too ;)

Just a warning, because this chapter is so late (sorry, I was attempting to get it up about 4 hours ago but our puppy was sick and I was the only one home :( ) tomorrow's chapter might be just a few hours delayed, but I'll try to not let it be :)

Some notes on reviews...

I'm going to be back on tumblr tomorrow, life gets crazy at times :)

Nope, I won't be doubling the next couple chapters, Mac's story will be over on the 8th ;)


	19. The Name of the Doctor

The Name of the Doctor

The Maitland house was quiet as the Doctor sat on a small armchair in the sitting room, lost in thought, tears in his eyes and it had nothing to do with the fact that Mac was sitting on the coffee table across from him, her ankles crossed, her hands on her lap, and not sitting next to him, trying to comfort him as they had just been given the most devastating news by Clara.

It had started off as a good day, a day like any other…well, as good as it could be considering Mac wasn't quite happy with her new body. He told her she was just as adorable as he always thought she was when her face had fallen upon seeing her new appearance. She'd gone from excited to see what she was like to sullen and crestfallen and it had broken his hearts to see her expression fall so. She hadn't even told him what was wrong at first, had just silently excused herself to go get a change of clothes, feeling like her current ones were just…wrong. And then she'd come back in black. And while it looked lovely on her, it just didn't feel right yet, her mood was reflected in her clothes and it hurt him to see her unhappy. Her outfit was a simple one though. It was like a blending of her last two outfits, a simple, ¾ sleeved dress, with a bit of a V neckline, that went down to a few inches above her knees. It was professional in a way, but was casual too. She had returned to flats, the same flats she seemed to favor for all three incarnations. He was noticing a pattern, she always wore some sort of dress-like outfit, a skirt or a dress, with flats, but that was fine, he loved seeing her legs and despite her new age appearance, her legs were still lovely to him. Her hair was clipped back on either side with a clip but free hanging, not held back with a cool headband any longer, but as long as it was hanging free he was happy, he loved touching her hair.

It hadn't been till a few days later that he'd been able to get her to admit why she was upset with her appearance, she never really struck him as one to care for it. But he'd worked it out mostly on his own when they had been strolling through a market place on some distant planet and someone had remarked, when he'd gone to purchase something, if it was for his mother…and gave Mac a smile. THAT was what was bothering her. In her current appearance, she appeared to be about 50 years old and, to humans especially, he was only barely reaching 30…she was old enough (in appearance) to be his mother despite her only being 10 years older in actual age. It was upsetting her that people would either look at them and think that he was her son or that she was some sort of cougar (though he didn't see the resemblance between her and that rather deadly cat…till she'd explained what a cougar was in human terms).

This new her was a bit more self-conscious than her prior bodies. She fretted more, wrung her hands when she was nervous in the same manner her last self had bit her lip, she muttered under her breath at times, and was quite nervous for others. It was like her mother hen mode but on overdrive at times. And the fact that she appeared so much older than him was bothering her, she didn't feel comfortable with the stares of others on her and knowing what they thought. He'd tried to reassure her because on Gallifrey it didn't matter. Regeneration was so much a lottery that there were married couples of all sorts of ages and appearances. Some times, with the Contracted, you would get a woman who appeared to be 20 and a man who seemed 60 years old, when really the woman could be 1000 and the man barely 200 in some extreme cases. The Time Lords didn't care what your appearance was like, nor even your actual age really, but she had just reminded him that they weren't on Gallifrey now, it wasn't the Time Lords surrounding them, but humans who would either think and old man and young woman were like a 'sugar daddy' or an older woman and younger man were 'cougars.'

It was bothering him a lot as well as there was a strain between them now. He couldn't show her as much affection outside the TARDIS as he wanted to. He wanted to reassure her always that he didn't see her physical appearance but who she was in her soul, and that it didn't matter…but others would stare and she'd get uncomfortable and pull away. She wasn't happy in this new body and it hurt him to see that.

He'd thought that a trip in to see Clara, someone that they could act normally around (or more normally than around other humans) would help. Mr. Maitland had been in a fluster though, needing to get next door to help a friend with something but not wanting to leave the children as Clara was sleeping and he didn't want to wake her. The poor man already felt like they asked too much of Clara as a nanny. But Mac had instantly volunteered for them, that was something that hadn't changed, she loved children so much and being a little older she seemed able to be a little more affectionate and authoritative with them though. Mr. Maitland had gone on his way and left them, as friends of Clara, to tend the children. Mac had gone into the kitchen to make some sandwiches for them while he played a game, Blind Man's Bluff, with the children as they'd wanted to go to the cinema but had been told by both 'adults' no.

But it appeared that, in the middle of their game, the children had snuck off, leaving him calling out to them while Mac made food till Clara had woken and come down. He'd been rather peeved at the little Daleks for sneaking away, but the moment Mac entered the room with the food she had seen something was bothering Clara and then she'd told them…

Vastra had sent her a message, a letter, to put her in a dream-like state where she could meet with the lizard woman, Jenny, Strax, and, somehow, River to discuss something of grave importance. A man in Vastra's time, Clarence DeMarco, a murderer, had information about the Doctor and provided space-time coordinates…to Trenzalore, the location of the Doctor's greatest secret. Before more could be discussed, something had happened to Jenny, she'd been hurt, and they'd all been attacked by men with no eyes and sharp teeth in black suits and top hats. River had forced them all awake and Clara had rushed to tell them what had happened.

And there they were, in the Maitland sitting room, trying to absorb everything that had been said as Clara made some tea, "So who was she?" Clara called, "The lady with the funny name and the space hair."

Mac got up and moved to sit on the edge of the arm chair, taking the Doctor's hand and holding it as she saw him flinch at the mention of River, the way Clara had described her, it was the River from the Library, her consciousness had somehow made it there. It hurt them both to think on that, to think on how their daughter had died with them not knowing who she was. The Doctor gripped her hand tightly, like a lifeline for the comfort.

She looked over at Clara, "What did Vastra say exactly?" she asked instead, "That message from DeMarco…"

"The Doctor has a secret he will take to the grave," Clara recited as she moved to bring the tea in on a tray, "It is discovered…" she trailed off though when she saw the tears in the Doctor's eyes, "Doctor?"

"It's alright dear," Mac murmured, moving to run a hand through his hair, trying to soothe him.

"Sorry," the Doctor's voice broke, shaking, "And it was Trenzalore? Definitely Trenzalore?"

"Yeah," Clara said quietly.

The Doctor put a hand over his eyes, before he stood quickly, "Sorry," and ran out of the room, not wanting either woman to see him cry.

"Oh dear," Mac let out a breath, wringing her hands, hesitating in going after him, just wanting to give him a moment to gather himself, knowing he hated to let companions (even unofficial ones) see him cry.

"Mackenzie what's going on?" Clara set the tea down, "What's Trenzalore?"

Mac looked at Clara solemnly, "It's a planet a few people have mentioned to the Doctor," she explained, "And what DeMarco said confirmed what the Doctor and I feared it would be."

"And what's that?"

"His grave," she swallowed hard, reaching out to take Clara's hand as the girl's eyes widened, before she led her out of the room, out of the house, and into the TARDIS sitting outside. They headed down below the console to see the Doctor sitting there. Mac looked at the Doctor sadly, seeing him just staring at the floor, before she led Clara over, "I need your hand for a moment Clara," she told her, taking it as Clara offered it, "This might hurt a bit, ok?" Clara nodded and Mac pulled a cable from above them and pressed it to Clara's hand.

"What's it for?" she asked.

"The coordinates you saw will still be in your memory," the Doctor rubbed his face once more before he stood, "Kenzie's linking you into the TARDIS telepathic circuit."

"So…what's so secret that you'd take it to the grave?" Clara tried to ask gently. She knew enough about history to know that people were often buried with their greatest treasures, especially those Egyptian fellows, tomb robbers might be on Trenzalore trying to break into his grave and rob something important from it. But what was it? Why would anyone ever break into the Doctor's tomb?

"I have many, many secrets Clara," the Doctor sighed, "I can't be sure which one they're after," he swallowed hard and looked at Mac before turning to Clara, "And it's not going to be easy to find out which one because, when you are a time traveler, Clara, there is one place you must never go. One place in all of space and time you must never, ever find yourself."

Clara blinked, realizing what it was, "Your own grave."

He nodded, assuming Mac had told her about it, about how the secret that he 'took to his grave' meant that someone had FOUND his grave, and if it was on Trenzalore…then he finally knew what all the hoopla about the planet was about, it was his final resting place.

"But…how can YOU have a grave?" Clara stared at him.

Mac nearly smiled at that, Clara was so like a child in that respect, in how she saw them as these everlasting creatures. It was just like with very young children who never knew death, they thought their parents would live forever, "Everyone has a grave Clara. If it were possible, we could visit yours. We…" she swallowed hard, "We visited the graves of our last companions without even realizing it."

"That's the trouble with time travel, you can actually end up visiting," the Doctor agreed.

"But…you're talking like you're going to go there and see which secret it is," Clara frowned, "You can't! You just said it's the one place you must never go."

"But we HAVE to go," Mac told her, "Not just to protect whatever they're after in breaking into the grave but Vastra, Jenny, and Strax are probably there too now."

"We have to save them," the Doctor agreed, "They cared for me during the dark times, never questioned me, never judged me, they were just...kind. I owe them. I have a duty."

"You really should stay here Clara," Mac looked at her sadly, pulling the cable away, "I don't ever say that to companions, but…this…this will truly be dangerous and if you got hurt…"

"Then I get hurt," Clara cut in, "It's MY decision to go, and I make it KNOWING there's a chance I'll be hurt," she crossed her arms, "I'm going," she nodded firmly, "Now, come on," she turned and headed up the stairs to the console, spinning around to look at them, "Alright, how can we save them?"

"Apparently..." the Doctor moved to the controls, "By breaking into my own tomb!" he reached out and pulled a lever, the TARDIS throwing them to the side, starting to jerk and buck and try to knock them off their feet.

"What's that?" Clara gasped, "What did you do?" she looked at the Doctor.

"Not him this time," Mac grit her teeth, "The TARDIS is doing this on purpose!"

"She just figured out where we're going," the Doctor moved to help Mac try to pilot, "She's against it. I'm about to cross my own time line in the biggest way possible, the TARDIS doesn't like it."

"Hold on Clara!" Mac cried as sparks flew, a small explosion going off, sending them all blasted back against the rails before the room went dark.

Clara waited a moment before taking a breath and looking at the Time Lords, "Now what?"

Mac pulled herself up and looked at the monitor, it was still flickering slightly, but enough for her to see where they were, "She won't land," she told them, "And she refuses to get closer, so she's turned the power off to stop us."

"So we're not there?"

"Oh we are," Mac nodded.

The Doctor frowned and moved over to the doors, opening it and staring down at the planet below. It looked sick, gray and caked with ash and smoke and fire, "So that's where I end up," he breathed as Mac and Clara joined him, "Always thought maybe I'd retire. Take up watercolors, or bee-keeping, or something. Apparently not."

Mac reached out and took his hand in hers, placing her other hand over it to offer him comfort before she looked down at the planet as well, "Oh dear."

"So," Clara frowned, "How do we get down there? Jump?"

"The anti-gravs wouldn't extend all the way down there," Mac shook her head, "If we jump, we'd end up burning up in the atmosphere."

"Then what do we do?"

"Fall," the Doctor gave them a sad smile, the mention of the anti-gravs sparking an idea. He closed the doors quickly and backed the girls up to the railings, knowing they'd all need to hold on soon, "She's turned off practically everything, except the anti-gravs. Guess what I'm turning off?" he pulled the sonic out and flicked it at the console just as Mac and Clara grabbed onto the railing and the TARDIS plummeted out of the sky, down to the planet below, burning up in the atmosphere as it went but remaining intact…till it landed with an agonizing jolt, so powerful that the windows began go crack around them.

The Doctor hurried over to the girls, helping them up, kissing Mac quickly when he saw she was ok, before they looked at the doors.

"Come on," Mac squeezed his hands, before leading him to the doors, Clara close behind. They stepped out into the middle of a graveyard at night, stones of differing sizes and shapes all around them, with lightning flashing in the sky as thunder rumbled in the distance.

"You ok?" Clara asked the Doctor gently, "Visiting your own grave, anyone would be scared."

"It's more than that," the Doctor swallowed, "I'm a time traveler. I've probably time-travelled more than anyone else."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning...my grave is potentially the most dangerous place in the universe."

"Then we had best get in and out as quickly as we can," Mac reasoned, tugging the Doctor's hand as she led them off, not wanting to stay there any longer than necessary either.

"Gravestones are a bit basic," Clara tried to make small talk as they went.

"It's a battlefield graveyard, my final battle," the Doctor murmured.

"Why are some of them bigger?"

"On most alien planets, the graves indicate the rank," Mac explained, "The bigger they are, the higher their rank was…oh dear," she paused, all three of them staring at the largest gravestone…an enormous, giant TARDIS a few feet away.

"Well," Clara tried to keep it light, "Bright side, it's a helluva monument."

"Oh Clara, it's not just a monument sweetie," Mac breathed, the Doctor's lips quirking into the smallest of smiles at hearing her say sweetie again, he'd rather liked that about her last self, "It's actually the TARDIS, the real, proper TARDIS."

"What?" Clara blinked.

"When a TARDIS is dying, sometimes the dimension dams start breaking down," the Doctor explained, "They used to call it a size leak, all the bigger-on-the-inside starts leaking to the outside. It grows. And there it is, my TARDIS from the future," he let out a long breath, "What else would they bury me in?" he grumbled before the two started off again.

Mac stopped rather quickly when she realized Clara wasn't following and turned to her, "Clara?" she turned to head back to the girl as she stood in the middle of the graves, "We need to hurry."

"Clara?" the Doctor began, only to trail off when he saw a gravestone just past her, "River…"

"That can't be right," Clara frowned at it.

The Doctor and Mac just moved closer to it, crouching and kneeling before the stone, tracing the words 'River Song' on it, "It isn't," Mac agreed.

"She's not dead."

The Doctor winced and squeezed Mac's hand tightly, "Oh, she's dead, I'm afraid. She's been dead for a very long time."

"But I met her!" Clara gaped.

"That's not the wrong part though," Mac shook her head, "Her grave wouldn't be here and her name…it wouldn't be River Song, it wouldn't even be in English!"

"Look out!" Clara suddenly cried out and they spun around to see the white men with teeth and no eyes that Clara had described moving in to surround them.

The Doctor pulled out the sonic to use on them but it did nothing, "This man must fall as all men must," they whispered, their mouths just hissing, unmoving, but the words whispered to them all, "The fate of all is always dust."

Mac grabbed the nearest object she could find, a rock, and threw it at the men, both to try and stop them but also to test what they were, whether they were a hologram of sorts like the Dream Lady had been. The rock went right through them, but not like a flicker, but more like they were made of a thick cloud of some sort of substance. It reformed quickly and the men continued to advance.

"What do you think the gravestone really is?" Clara asked them suddenly, making them tense as they heard a second voice echoing with hers.

"The gravestone?" the Doctor glanced back at her before quickly looking away, pained.

"Maybe it's a false grave."

"It could be," Mac tensed, squeezing the Doctor's hand.

"Maybe it's a secret entrance to the tomb!"

"Yes, of course, makes sense!" the Doctor spun around, flashing the sonic at the gravestone.

"As though we'd ever let our daughter be buried here!"

"Your what?!" Clara gasped just as the ground underneath them opened up and they fell down through a rectangular hole in the ground, looking up at the men above them as they just looked down at them.

"The man who lies will lie no more," they hissed, "When this man lies at Trenzalore."

"Come on," Mac grabbed the Doctor's hand and helped Clara up, the three of them taking off down the tunnels before them.

Once they were far enough away to not hear the hissing of the men, the Doctor grabbed a torch off the wall and Mac quickly lit it with her lighter, allowing them to see better.

"Where are we?" Clara panted.

"Seems like Catacombs," Mac winced apologetically.

Clara was quite a moment longer as they continued their trek, "Um…so…River is you um…daughter?" she tried to be delicate, "You said she passed on, so…how could I meet her?" she slowed to a stop.

"We saved her life," Mac said quietly, surprising the Doctor with how she was able to speak of it. Usually River and what happened to her was a closed off subject for her, but this new her seemed to be ok with talking more about her feelings at times, "She saved us and nearly died. She DID die, but we were able to save her consciousness and protect it."

"Come on!" the Doctor suddenly shouted as he spotted one of the creatures behind Clara, lunging to grab her hand and pull her on, "Run, run!" they hurried down the hall to another door, "Come on, quickly, we're in," the Doctor quickly turned to shove the door shut as Mac frowned at the walls, similar in design to the TARDIS's.

"Help!" Clara gasped as she felt one of the creatures grab her arm.

Mac turned and grabbed a rock off the ground, swinging it onto the arm holding her, making it shimmer like smoke so the Doctor could shut the door.

"Yowzah," the Doctor breathed, bracing himself against the door a moment.

Mac walked over with the torch and snuffed it out before wedging it through the door handle to keep the door shut, "We need to hurry," she told the Doctor, glancing at Clara, "Are you alright Clara?"

"Fine," Clara nodded.

"Bit of a climb," the Doctor looked ahead to where there was a small set of steps, "Think I remember the way," he started to head up it, the girls after him.

They had only made it to another landing when Clara staggered, pulling Mac's focus to her, "Clara, are you alright?" she hurried over to stabilize her, "Clara? Clara, sweetie…ooh dear, I'm sorry," she apologized, touching Clara's cheek, "It's the dimensioning forces, this deep in the TARDIS it can make you feel a bit fuzzy…it'll pass soon, I promise."

"I know, I know," Clara breathed, before stiffening and pulling away, staring at them in shock, "How do I know? How do I know that?"

"Clara, it's ok, you're fine," the Doctor tried to help calm her.

But Clara winced and closed her eyes and they knew what was happening, the forces were dragging up the memories of when the TARDIS had been caught before, "Have we…have we done this before?" Clara panted.

"Clara…" Mac stepped towards her.

But Clara pulled back, her eyes snapping open as she looked at them in horror, "We have! We have done this before, climbing through a wrecked TARDIS…you said things, things I'm not supposed to remember!"

"We can't do this now," the Doctor said grimly, "The TARDIS is a ruin, the telepathic circuits are awakening memories you shouldn't even have."

"Clara?" Mac moved forward despite Clara backing up as she stumbled and grabbed at her head, "Clara, sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"What did you mean," she whimpered, looking at them as she backed into a wall, "You keep meeting me? You said I died! How could I die?"

"That's not a conversation you should even remember…" the Doctor began.

"What do you mean I died?!" she demanded.

But before they could answer, the hissing of the creatures reached them, "The girl who died he tried to save. She'll die again inside his grave."

"Clara I'm sorry, but we need to go," Mac took her hand, "Run!" she cried as they ran off.

~8~

The trio ran up to the top of the stairs just in time to see a man who looked like Dr. Simeon, the vessel of the Great Intelligence, standing there, before Vastra, Strax, and Jenny, before the doors of the oversized TARDIS, speaking to them, "The doors require a key," the man was saying, "The key is a word. And the word is the Doctor's."

"Here I am," the Doctor called, pulling the man's attention over to them, Mac moving more in front of Clara to protect her from Simeon. Last time the man had been involved one of the other Claras had died, "Late to my own funeral. Glad to see you could make it. Jenny," he gave her a nod, pleased to see she was ok.

"Open the door, Doctor," Simeon turned to him, his face as blank and long as it had been in Victorian London, "Speak, and open your tomb."

"No."

"Then we shall force your Chosen to speak it," his gaze turned to Mac.

"I won't either," Mac told him seriously.

"Because you know what's in there?" Simeon guessed, glancing between them.

"We will not open those doors," the Doctor repeated, stepping back to Mac's side, taking her hand.

"The key is a word lost to time. A secret hidden in the deepest shadow and known to you alone. The answer to a question!"

"And we have told you repeatedly," Mac stepped forward to the man with the Doctor at her side, "We shall not open that tomb. With all your Victorian Values one would think listening would be high on the list."

Simeon glared at her and turned to the Doctor, "Doctor, what is your name?" but the Doctor remained silent. He reached up to grab the man's face but the Doctor stepped back and so he turned to the creatures that were surrounding them, "The Doctor's friends, stop their hearts."

"No!" Mac cried, turning as the creatures began to advance on the others, "Clara get back," she called, seeing Clara a little off to the side, the girl running to her and the Doctor for protection as Vastra, Jenny, and Strax picked up makeshift weapons.

"Madam, boys, combat formation!" Strax called, "They are unarmed!"

"So are we!" Jenny huffed, all she had to her name was a stick!

"Do not divulge our military secrets!"

"Stop this!" the Doctor turned to Simeon, glaring, "Leave them alone."

"Your name, Doctor," he smirked.

"Don't you dare harm them!" Mac threatened.

Simeon's smirk just grew, "Answer me then."

Strax let out a strangled cry as one of the creatures grabbed into his chest and grabbed his heart.

"Doctor who?" Simeon asked.

"Please, stop it!" the Doctor looked from Strax to Simeon.

"Doctor who?"

"Leave them alone," Mac pleaded, "Please don't hurt them!" she reached into the pockets of her skirt, trying to find something that could help her, but the creatures seemed to be both incorporeal and corporeal and there was hardly anything she could do with a string and a piece of tape to help.

"Doctor!" Clara gasped as she felt herself being pulled away from them from behind by one of the creatures.

"Doctor who?!" Simeon demanded.

"Please!" the Doctor shouted…and suddenly the doors behind them cracked open, making them all freeze and look over at them.

Simeon held up a hand and the creatures released Strax and Clara and stepped back from the group to a safer distance.

"Why did you open the door, sir?" Strax panted, "I had them on the run!"

"He didn't," Mac frowned, looking around, her gaze lingering on Clara a moment longer, "Neither did I," before she turned back to the Doctor.

"Neither of us said my name," he agreed.

Mac shook her head and turned, moving between the small group that was there, "Are you ok?" she asked them all, checking on them, "Is everyone alright? Vastra? Strax? Jenny? Clara? You ok?" she fretted about, "Clara?"

"I'm fine," Clara nodded, swallowing hard, relieved she hadn't had to go through what Strax had, the alien-potato-thing seemed still ill at ease and pained as he rubbed his chest.

"Good," Mac hugged her tightly.

"Now then, Dr. Simeon," the Doctor glared at the man, "Or Mr. G. Intelligence, whatever I call you...do you know what's in there?"

"For me, peace at last," the man answered, "For you, pain everlasting. Won't you invite us in?" he stepped back, allowing the Doctor to move forward and open the doors with a groan, leading them all inside, the Doctor first, then Mac and Clara, before Simeon and then the others followed.

It was the console room, on the other side of the doors, but one that broke the Doctor and Mac's hearts to see. It was old, partially destroyed, with vines and other flora growing everywhere. The cloister bells were ringing faintly and it was dark. There was only one source of light in the room and it was coming from a spiraling, white set of lights that looked like miniature bolts of lightning in the middle of the room, where the rotor and console should have been.

"What's that?" Clara breathed, staring at it.

"What were you expecting?" the Doctor asked as they stepped onto the console platform, "A body? Bodies are boring, I've had loads of 'em, Kenzie's had a few too. No, that's not what my tomb is for."

"But what is the light?" Vastra frowned as Simeon and the creatures surrounded them, Simeon standing nearer the light.

"It's beautiful," Jenny murmured, smiling softly at the sight.

"Should I destroy it?" Strax asked.

"Shut up, Strax," Vastra hissed at him.

"Doctor, Mackenzie," Clara glanced at them, "Explain. What is that?"

"The tracks of my tears," the Doctor offered.

"Less poetry, Doctor," Simeon scoffed, "Just tell them."

"It's a time tunnel," Mac told them.

"Time travel is...damage," the Doctor tried to help explain it, "It's like a tear in the fabric of reality. That is the scar tissue of my journey through the universe. My path through time and space, from Gallifrey to Trenzalore," he pulled his sonic out and flicked it at the light, filling the room with the ghostly echoes of all his prior incarnations, all whispering things they'd said at one point or another, "My own personal time tunnel, all the days, even the ones that..." he swallowed hard, starting to stagger, Mac instantly moving to his side, "I, er, even the ones that I haven't lived yet."

"Doctor!" Mac clutched him as he nearly collapsed to the floor, slowly lowering him down with her as Clara ran ot help.

"What happened?" Clara gasped, "What's wrong?"

"The time tunnel is his own personal timeline," Mac said quickly, the Doctor gripping her hand so tightly despite the weakness she could feel in it that his knuckles turned white, "It's essentially a paradox to have them both here…"

"No," the Doctor moaned, seeing Simeon heading for the tunnel out of the corner of his eye, "What are you doing?"

"Stop!" Mac shouted, unable to get up or do anything as the Doctor refused to let go of her hand, "Vastra, Strax, stop him!"

But the creatures stepped before the three others, blocking their way as Simeon stopped right in front of the tunnel, "The Doctor's life is an open wound. And an open wound can be entered."

"You do that it'll tear you to pieces," Mac glared.

"Not at all," he turned to face them, "It will kill me, it will destroy you," his gaze drifted to the Doctor, "It will destroy the man you are right now. It will erase everything you've done in your entire life," he smirked, "I can rewrite your every living moment. I can turn every one of your victories into defeats. Poison every friendship. Deliver pain to your every breath. I can prevent every good you've ever done…with one simple change."

The Doctor shook his head, it didn't matter what change it was, it would completely unwrite his entire life, "It would burn you up. Once you go through, you can't come back, you'll be scattered along my timeline, like confetti!"

"It matters not, Doctor," Simeon shook his head, "You thwarted me at every turn. Now, I have the power to prevent you ever leaving Gallifrey."

"What?" Mac shook her head, "That's ridiculous."

"Is it?" Simeon laughed, "We shall see," his eyes flickered to the Doctor, "Goodbye, Doctor!"

And with that, Simeon stepped back into the tunnel, the light turning red as the Doctor screamed in pain, the grip on Mac's hand tightening.

"What's wrong with him?" Clara shouted, "What's happening?!"

"He's being rewritten!" Vastra breathed in horror, staring at a scanner in her hand.

"Look," Mac nodded solemnly towards the tunnel.

In the air just above it, just around it, they could see faint images, like a projection, different moments of the Doctor's life popping up. It was a very long tunnel, there was no way that Simeon would be able to tell if he was at whatever point he was trying to find without peeking and when he did he disrupted the time around him. She could see it, him meeting and interfering with each incarnation of the Doctor in reverse order, heading to the past, to the first Doctor.

"Simeon is attacking his entire timeline!" Vastra gasped, "He's dying all at once. The Dalek Asylum. Androzani…"

"What did you say?" Clara looked at her in alarm, recalling that name from when they'd gone to the center of the TARDIS, "Did you say the Dalek Asylum?"

"Now he's dying in London, with us."

"No," Mac shook her head, watching the images with wide eyes, "He's not dying…he's erasing…oh dear…" she breathed seeing Simeon finally reach the point he wanted.

She couldn't hear what was going on, what was happening, but she could see it…something…Simeon was doing something. She could see it, the Doctor's first incarnation, and her own first incarnation, both of them speaking and she gasped, "He couldn't!"

"What?" Clara looked at her, alarmed.

"It's the moment he ran away," Mac whispered, her eyes fixed on the scene.

She remembered it, she'd told him that she'd loved him, and he bolted from the room before she could even finish…but there it was, he was bolting…and the door was locked. Simeon had trapped him.

Even now she could see her first self walking over to the Doctor, touching his shoulder, making them slump as he turned to her, the two of them talking and…and hugging…and there was a kiss…and…

She cried out in pain, her hands flying to her head as she felt it, her own timeline being altered with this change, "Clara…" she gasped, realizing now what was going on, what was happening, what Clara truly was, all the past ones she'd seen of her, "Clara you need to stop him."

"What?"

Mac looked at her, seeing that, at some point, Vastra, Strax, and Jenny had disappeared…either run out or vanished because of the changing timelines she wasn't sure, but they weren't in the room now. She reached out, groaning in pain as she grabbed Clara's hand, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but Clara you're the only one who can stop him."

"What about you?" Clara shook her head, not understanding.

"Look," she nodded past her, towards the light, it was starting to flicker, it was starting to branch out, to split down the middle but still stuck in one point near the base. It was like a giant V now, "He's rewriting my past as well."

It was nearly laughable how like the Trickster this was. The Great Intelligence would never risk removing a mind like the Doctor's, a mind he might be able to manipulate or feed off of in the future, he wanted the Doctor alive…but he wanted him to be in one place, on Gallifrey. The Doctor had told her once, so long ago, that had HE been her husband, he'd have been a better one, stayed with her at all times. And she wouldn't have left Gallifrey, neither would he. She'd only wanted to go with him for adventure because he wanted to, but if she'd had a child, like she might have had if it had been his child, she wouldn't have wanted to risk their life. Their entire lives would have stayed on Gallifrey.

"I can't enter after him now…" Mac swallowed hard, closing her eyes and gripping her head again, feeling her memories starting to be rewritten.

"The Dalek Asylum," Clara breathed, looking at Mac, "The Doctor said it was me that saved you both. And Victorian London," she slowly started to nod, looking at the tunnel, "I have to go in there. THAT's how I was there. I went in after Simeon…_I_ was broken up into pieces too and scattered along the timeline…wasn't I?"

"Please," the Doctor murmured, "Please, no..."

But Clara just stood, her eyes on the tunnel, "This is what I've already done. You've already seen me do it. I'm the Impossible Girl, and this is why…" she took a breath and looked over to the side of the room, Mac trying to follow her gaze, hear what she heard, but if her life was being rewritten, then so were her children, "If I step in there..." Clara began, "What happens?" she was quiet a moment, "But the echoes could save the Doctor and Mackenzie, right?" she nodded, determined, "But they'll be real enough to save them," she shrugged to herself and stepped closer, "Like my mum said, the soufflé isn't the soufflé, the soufflé is the recipe," she paused just before the tunnel and looked at the Time Lords struggling to hold onto their pasts, "It's the only way to save them, isn't it?"

She looked to the side of the room and back to the tunnel.

"Well, how about that? I'm Souffle Girl after all," she took a breath, "If this works, get out of here as fast as you can. And spare me a thought now and then."

"Clara…" Mac gasped, wanting to comfort her, wanting to reassure her, but her head felt like it was being drilled into, she could hardly form Clara's name.

"In fact, you know what?" she turned to look at them, a soft smile on her face, "Run. Run, you clever boy, you sweet girl. And remember me."

She gave them one last smile before she leapt into the light.

Mac gasped, feeling the pressure lighten in her mind, and looked up, seeing the same scenes playing as with Simeon, all the Doctors being met in reverse order, Clara following in Simeon's steps to refix the timelines the way they were meant to be, saving the Doctor, and her at times, where Simeon's presence had thrown the balance off, all the while making her way back and back and back…till that first time…

Mac felt a tear fall from her eyes as she watched Clara unlock the door, knowing that it would mean a lifetime of misery and anger, that the possible future she could have had with him as her husband from day one was going to be gone.

But this…this was bigger than her. The Doctor, the children he'd have, the children THEY would have, and the life he would lead because of who he married would be what shaped him into the man he was, the man who saved so many lives all across the Universe.

And this…this was right.

~8~

A blinding white light had filled the room and, a moment later, Mac and the Doctor were standing on one side of the TARDIS console room, Strax, Vastra, and Jenny on the other side, the time tunnel glowing its natural glow in the middle of the room, whole and not broken, white and not red.

"It was an unprovoked and violent attack," Strax was huffing, "But that's no excuse..."

"We are all restored, that is all that matters now," Vastra remarked.

"No," Mac shook her head turning and moving to the middle of the room, "Clara isn't restored."

"We have to get her back," the Doctor agreed, moving to Mac's side.

"_You can't go in there,_" a familiar voice spoke behind them, "_It's your own time stream, for God's sake!_"

"I'll go," Mac offered, knowing that if the Doctor tried the time tunnel would collapse and it would all be for naught, he and Clara would likely be lost in it.

"_You can't! You'll get her back, but not like this!_"

"But how?" Jenny shook her head.

"Is she still alive?" Vastra reasoned, "It killed Dr. Simeon."

"Yes, but Simeon isn't a Time Lord," Mac reminded them, "I can endure it better."

"_Mother, please listen to me, at least hear me!_"

Mac turned to the Doctor, "You can monitor my progress from here."

"_Father stop her!_"

"What if something goes wrong?" Vastra argued, "Is there not some other way?"

"_There HAD to be another way! Use the TARDIS, use something. Save her, yes, but for God's sake, be sensible!_"

"_Hitting is bad, Merina,_" Mac turned to the side, speaking in Gallifreyan and looking at a projection, an apparition, of River Song standing just beside her and the Doctor, the man turned with his hand raised to grab River's wrist from where she was about to shove them.

The Doctor smiled, "_Didn't the Ponds teach you manners?_"

River stood there, staring at them. She had been there the entire time, able to communicate with the TARDIS telepathically to get the doors to open with his name, speaking and visible to Clara and Clara alone…or so she thought, "_How are you even doing that? I'm not really here._"

"_You are our daughter,_" Mac whispered, "_You are always right here,_" she put her hand to the center of her chest, over her hearts.

"_And we always listen and we can always see you,_" the Doctor added.

"_Then why didn't you speak to me?_" she asked, tears in her eyes.

The Doctor swallowed, lowering her wrist as he took Mac's hand, "_We thought it would hurt too much._"

"_I believe I could have coped._"

"_Us,_" Mac explained, "_It was too much for us. You…you are the only child we got to know,_" she sniffled, "_And losing you…knowing how it happened, what we didn't know about you…it was too much, the guilt and pain was too much._"

"_We were right,_" the Doctor whispered, "_It was too much, but we're sorry,_" he leaned in and hugged her, Mac as well, making it a small group hug between the Time Family, "_And…since nobody else in this room can see you…that probably looked rather odd,_" he glanced at the others to see them eyeing them oddly.

"_Seems about right,_" Mac mused, before looking at River and touching her cheek, "_You couldn't leave us till you knew we were alright, could you?_"

River shook her head, tears in her own eyes.

"_There is a time to live and a time to sleep,_" the Doctor murmured, "_You are an echo, River. Like Clara. Like all of us, in the end. Our fault, we know, but you…you can fade now. We'll be alright._"

River smiled sadly, "_It's hard to leave when you haven't said goodbye._"

"_I don't think I can say that,_" Mac admitted, she wanted River to be able to rest, but she didn't want to think that she would never see her baby girl ever ever again.

"_Then say it like we'll all be back together one day,_" River supplied.

The Doctor squeezed Mac's hand and they stepped back, "_We'll see you again,_" Mac blew River a kiss.

"_See you later, Merina,_" the Doctor offered.

"_Till the next time,_" River beamed at them, "_Mother, father,_" she started to fade, "_Though, before I go…you should know I was mentally linked with Clara, she can't really be dead if I'm still here,_" she winked at them before she faded entirely.

The Doctor stared at the spot a moment longer before turning to Mac, "Ready dear?"

Mac took a breath, gave him a quick kiss, quicker than she or he would have liked but there was an audience, before she turned and stepped into the time tunnel.

She could see her, Clara, on the ground of a sort of odd colored version of Trenzalore's graveyards, kneeling in the fog, crying out for help, her please breaking her hearts, "Please!" Clara sobbed, "Please, I don't know where I am."

"Clara, sweetie," Mac called out to her, pushing through the timeline to get closer, "Clara can you hear me?"

"Mackenzie?" Clara lifted her head, trying to look around, "Where are you? I can't see you."

"I'm almost there," she reassured her, "You've fallen through the Doctor's time stream, there are just remnants with you now," she could see it as well, images like ghosts rushing past her of the Doctor's different incarnations, "You see those men? They're the Doctor, all his different faces."

"They're like ghosts," Clara breathed, reaching out to touch one for help but her hand went through it.

"I know," she let out a small groan of pain before she fell through the rest of the timeline, landing behind Clara with a thump, the energy from the time tunnel rippling around her for a moment.

"What's wrong, what's happening?" Clara gasped.

"It was just me," she promised, "I'm here Clara…turn around sweetheart," she smiled widely as Clara turned, "Come," she held out her arms for Clara, "I can get you back but you have to come here…" she laughed as Clara started to head towards her, a leaf, the leaf that represented her past and future held in her hand, "That's it, come on…do the impossible one more time…" she beamed as Clara reached her and hugged her tightly, "Oh dear, oh, dear, dear, dear, it's ok, hush now, it's ok," she gently rocked Clara side to side as the girl cried on her shoulder, "You've done such wonderful things Clara, you were so brave," she pulled back to touch Clara's cheek with a motherly affection, "You saved the Doctor, you saved me too," she smiled, "Now it's my turn. I'm going to get you…out…of…here…" she trailed off, her gaze catching on something behind Clara.

There was another man there, an older man, standing with his back to them, his leather jacket old and worn and dirty, his hair graying.

"Who's that?" Clara frowned.

"No one," Mac swallowed hard, tugging her back.

"But who is he?"

Mac let out a breath, her hands clenching with the desire to wring them together but not willing to let go of Clara who was still shaking in her arms, "Another version of the Doctor."

"But I never saw that one," Clara shook her head, "I saw all of him. 11 faces, all of them the Doctor…the one we're travelling with, the 11th Doctor."

"I said he was a VERSION of the Doctor," Mac reminded solemnly, "I didn't say he was THE Doctor."

"I don't understand."

"The name the Doctor took was a promise," Mac explained quickly, tugging her back, further away from the man, "That one was the one who he thinks didn't uphold it and…Clara?" she looked down as Clara sagged against her, "Clara?" she pulled Clara's arm around her shoulder, "It's ok Clara, I'll get you out of here sweetie," she looked at the man once more, the man that was the Doctor's greatest secret.

"What I did," he spoke, "I did without choice. In the name of peace and sanity."

She shook her head sadly, "What you did…was something a Doctor could never do," she told him, watching as he turned, an old man with sad eyes and a small beard, looking at her in agony and apology. But she just shook her head and turned, she had to get Clara out of there.

~8~

"_I don't know where I am, I don't know where I'm going, or where I've been. I just know I'm running. It's like I'm breaking into a million pieces. Sometimes it's like I've lived a thousand lives in a thousand places. I'm born, I live, I die. And there's only one thing I remember. I have to save the Doctor. Always, there's the Doctor. Always I'm running to save the Doctor, again…and again…and again. He always looks different, but I always know it's him. Sometimes I think I'm everywhere at once. Running every second, just to find him. Just to save him. But he never hears me, almost never. But I've always been there. Right from the very beginning. Right from the day he started running. I blew into this world on a leaf. I'm still blowing. I don't think I'll ever land. I'm Clara Oswald, I'm the impossible girl, I was born to save the Doctor. But the Doctor is safe now. I'm the Impossible Girl and my story is done._"

A/N: Bit of a twist to the time tunnel :) I've done 3 stories where the OCs featured into the tunnel itself, so I wanted to try one where it really was just the Doctor's tunnel, but still incorporate the OC's past into it :) I know we didn't get to see much of the other Doctors because of it, since it was more Clara trying to get right back to the past, I interpret it for this story to be her travelling back Doctor by Doctor and just sort of helping him when he needed it till she got to the 1st Doctor :)

We'll have a bit of a strain for Mac and the Doctor in these last stretches, this new her will be a bit more self-conscious and fretting than before, but I like to think it'll open up oodles of fun for Series 8 ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Now that we know who the 12th Doctor is I definitely tried to pick an actress that would match him yup :) I also wanted to semi-explore what others would perceive of 11 with an 'older' woman around lol :) Just to tease them a little ;)

Mac is now on her 9th self :)

Lol, thanks! It was almost midnight when I posted the chapter, I sort of went to bed right after, but I fixed it, thanks! :) And I agree, that song reminds me of them too :)


	20. Day of the Doctor - Part 1

Day of the Doctor - Part 1

The Doctor smiled as he sat in the TARDIS with Mac, the two of them on the small set of steps that led to the console from the side, a book on Advanced Quantum Mechanics open in his hand as he read to her. She was leaning to the side, her elbow on the steps with her head resting on her hand as she smiled at him, just listening to him read. He liked this, just as it was, the two of them in the TARDIS where they could pretend for a moment or two that they were just on a trip from Gallifrey to see some sight in the Universe before returning home. It was always harder to do that, to think that and later realize, when Clara came knocking that they were just making believe instead of really going back to Gallifrey. But it was the only way to get Mac comfortable with being around him in her current form. They had both been away from Gallifrey for so long, around humans and their notions of age, that it had made her uncomfortable to be too intimate with him given her appearance, and while he tried to reassure her that she didn't look a day over 300 (jokingly) she still shied away from him when others were around. He missed it, he missed being as close to her as the other her had been with him. She had even started going back to telling him to 'stop talking' with her little hand motion instead of kissing him…which he had really enjoyed her doing.

So if this was what it took, pretending Gallifrey was there, for her to feel comfortable enough to let it be the two of them as it was meant to be, he'd do it, he'd do anything for her.

But, as it always happened, all too soon the doors were opening and Clara rode in on a motorbike, she wasn't working for the Maitlands any longer, no, she was a teacher now, at an old school that two of the Doctor's prior companions had been involved with. They'd sent word that they'd be knocking around for a bit and she'd come to join them the moment school let out it appeared.

"Clara would you be a dear and shut the door?" Mac called, glancing at her as the doors were still open.

Clara pulled her helmet off and snapped her fingers, grinning as the door shut behind her.

"Fancy a week in Ancient Mesopotamia?" the Doctor asked, shutting the book and turning to look at her, moving to lean against the stairs, his stance mirroring Mac's, "Followed by future Mars?"

Mac smiled softly at him for that, Ancient Mesopotamia was less about the stereotypes of age, as was future Mars for the large part. He had been trying to think of trips that didn't involve modern day humans or other cultures that would see their relationship in an odd or insulting way. She very much appreciated it, but the fact that he was doing that actively only served to make her more aware of the glaring age difference between them. Clara had seemed to accept it, after her time in the time tunnel it was almost like there was a subconscious knowledge to her, like she'd absorbed little aspects of all the lives she'd lived to help her adjust to the odd things she'd see in her travels. She wasn't quite as shocked by aliens any longer, she had a sort of instinct about piloting the TARDIS, there wasn't an overt difference in how she acted though she appeared wiser than before. It was like she'd managed to merge all the different hers, or at least take in some part of them and make herself better, piece herself together once more into the Clara she had been, but with just a bit extra, like the time she'd been uploaded.

"Will there be cocktails?" she asked with a smirk.

"On the moon," the Doctor grinned, getting up and holding out a hand to Mac to help her up as well, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand before he skipped up to the console.

"The moon'll do!"

"Hello Clara," Mac beamed at her, walking over to hug her tightly as the Doctor got the TARDIS ready for their new trip, "How are you enjoying being a teacher?"

"It's good," she smiled and nodded, "The kids test me more than I do them!"

"Kids tend to do that," Mac nodded, giving a small glance to the Doctor and back to Clara, making the girl giggle at the implication, the Doctor really was like a large child…

Mac's smile faltered a bit at that as well, that was another thing that made her feel old instead of just looking old. She felt like a mother, like she was constantly worrying about things like…what the weather was outside and if they'd need mittens or sunblock and other things she hadn't really concerned herself with before. She'd stand there and be reading the SPF levels of sunblock while the Doctor would be whooping and rushing to the waters and trying to build a sandcastle. She would never ever make him act differently than he was, but his child-like exuberance often made her feel older too.

"Well," she cleared her throat, "Be sure to get plenty of sleep and eat a hearty breakfast and I'm sure you'll be able to tackle any problems they throw at you."

Clara laughed and rolled her eyes, "Yes mum," she joked, though Mac didn't quite laugh so much as just smile.

"Ready?" the Doctor called, already at a lever to send them into the Vortex. He grinned widely as they nodded and moved to pull it…when a thunking noise sounded above them and the box started to jolt and move.

"What's happening?" Clara frowned.

"Doctor what lever did you pull?" Mac tried to make her way to the console.

"I didn't!" he defended, "I didn't pull it yet, whoa!" he nearly lost his balance but grabbed onto the console just in time to not topple over, "We're taking off!"

"But the engines aren't even on!" Mac frowned, hurrying to the monitor to activate it and see where they were and what was going on. She blinked when she saw it though, "Why's a UNIT helicopter carrying us off?" she frowned, "They know we're meant to be sticking to the shadows!"

The Doctor huffed at that and headed to the doors to look out, seeing that they were too high up to dematerialize without unbalancing the helicopter and quickly pulled the phone out from behind the instruction panel, waiting for someone to pick up after he dialed the number, "It's me," he answered as Mac looked over, "The Doctor…" he paused, seeming to be waiting for something before he rolled his eyes, "No kidding!" and held the phone up to the blades.

Mac shook her head and got back to the console, trying to patch a message into the UNIT copter to lower them down again as the Doctor continued his phone conversation with Kate Stewart. She didn't look over till she heard Clara shout 'Doctor!' and saw him topple out the doors as the helicopter turned in flight.

"Doctor!" she gasped and rushed over with Clara, Clara kneeling down to look as she leaned over the doorway, seeing the Doctor hanging upside down from the door and trying to catch the phone as it swung beside him, only for it to hit him in the face.

"Next time," he grunted as he managed to get the phone, "Would it kill you to knock?"

"Oh dear," Mac frowned, "Hold on" she told the Doctor, before running back to the console to try and get the teleport working so she could get him back inside.

"Ah!" Clara gasped as her grip on the Doctor's legs faltered and he fell entirely out of the doors, "Doctor!"

"What happened?" Mac rushed over, leaning out again only to breathe a sigh of relief when she saw that the Doctor had managed to grab onto the underside of the TARDIS and was dangling beneath it by the hands. She looked up, able to see they were nearing Trafalgar Square and reached down to help Clara stand before returning her gaze to the Doctor as they were lowered down. The pilot of the copter must have been made aware of the extra baggage hanging from beneath its cargo as it hovered above the ground till the Doctor could hop off and duck away from the rest of the box as it was lowered.

The moment the box was on the ground, she stepped out with Clara, shutting the doors behind her as they hurried to join the Doctor before a small gathering of UNIT soldiers, Kate and a young girl in glasses, a white lab coat, and a rather familiar scarf standing before them, the Doctor finishing a salute to them.

"Kate Lethbridge-Stewart," the Doctor was saying as they approached, "A word to the wise. As I'm sure your father would've told you, I don't like being picked up."

"That probably sounded better in his head," Clara muttered as they came onto either side of the Doctor.

"Yes," the Doctor agreed, "It did. Amended word to the wise, I don't like anyone but Kenzie picking me up."

Mac smiled at that, but it was a small one. She hadn't said it out loud as this Doctor had called her Kenzie from the moment he regenerated, but…even that name bothered her. It was too…youthful, in her opinion, it was like the name you'd give well, her last incarnation, but this one it just seemed out of place and reminded her she wasn't as young as she had been in her last body. But really, it was an endearment so she wouldn't say anything about it. And…it was likely the last endearment and affectionated version of her name that she'd be able to get from him so she would take all that she could.

"Agent Mackenzie!" Kate turned to her, seeing the Doctor gesture to her, "My apologize, I didn't know you had regenerated."

"It's alright Kate," Mac waved her off, "Though I could use some help getting an updated ID made, I can only flash my last face's badge so quickly before people realize I'm not her."

"Yes of course," Kate nodded, "Osgood," she turned to the girl beside her, "Ensure that Agent Mackenzie's ID is updated with the utmost secrecy."

"Having the TARDIS flown in via helicopter for all the world to see sort of negates that secrecy, doesn't it?" Mac asked with a small smiled.

"Apologies," Kate looked at them, growing serious, "But I was acting on instructions direct from the throne," she held out her hand and Osgood pulled out a letter sealed with the royal crest and handed it to her, "Sealed orders from Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the First," she held out the letter only to tug it back when the Doctor tried to take it, "It's um, actually for Agent Mackenzie."

Mac blinked, "ME?" but Kate just nodded and handed it to her.

"The Queen?" Clara blinked, "The First? Sorry, Elizabeth the First?"

"It makes sense," the Doctor nodded, thinking she was asking about the queen giving Mac the letter instead of the fact he knew the queen, "She did like you better after all those things you told her about me."

"It was another me Doctor," she reminded him, starting to open the letter, "I was still a bit cross with you at that time."

"Yes," he rubbed his neck, he vaguely remembered it really. He remembered meeting Elizabeth and her being a bit fond of him…till Mac had taken it upon herself to tell the woman quite a few less than respectable things about him. On one hand it helped keep the Queen away, on the other hand it was a little embarrassing to hear her divulging some of those tales.

"Her credentials are inside the National Gallery," she nodded back to the building behind her, "Come," she turned to gesture them to go on ahead.

"Nice scarf," the Doctor pointed at Osgood before taking Mac's hand, he could at least get THAT out of her even when surrounded by people. It made her shift a bit in discomfort because anyone who saw them would think he was being a 'good son' and holding his 'mother's' hand but he could at least get that much contact out of her so he'd grab it while he could.

"Did you know her?" Clara asked as they entered the building, "Elizabeth the First?"

"Unified Intelligence Task Force," the Doctor said as Mac opened her mouth to answer.

"Sorry?"

"That's what UNIT is," Mac explained.

"Like on that badge you flash around?" Clara inquired, she'd know what UNIT was on earth, vaguely, that they dealt with alien threats, she knew Mac used to work for them, but seeing her in an environment like this where they were actually back with UNIT was odd.

"Yes, Kenzie works for them," the Doctor nodded.

"Oi, so do you," Mac laughed, squeezing his hand, allowing him to move his arm through hers instead now that they were away from prying eyes, it seemed like Kate had closed down the museum for them.

"You have a job?!" Clara stared at the Doctor, "I mean, Mackenzie, yeah, I can see that, but YOU?"

"Why shouldn't I have a job?" he asked, mock-offended, "I'd be brilliant at having a job."

"You don't have a job!"

"I do. This is my job, I'm doing it now."

"You never have a job."

"I do! I do!"

"Technically he HAD a job," Mac corrected with a small laugh, "And then one day he just popped out and disappeared and UNIT hadn't had real contact with him for about 30 years or so. He's still on record as an employee cos he forgot to fill out and hand in his resignation. We're both listed as deceased now though, but still on active duty."

"How does THAT work?" Clara shook her head.

"Well, regeneration means our last bodies were technically deceased," Mac offered, "And with how often the Doctor disappears for long periods of time, tales of his 'death' do tend to pop up and then he appears well and alive again. We both faked our deaths about 100 years go," she added, "UNIT is one of the few places that know we're still alive. Though I'm sure word will be spreading out to the stars again."

"Yes, we really should try to minimize that," the Doctor agreed as they came to a stop before what seemed to be a large picture frame, but it had a tarp on it.

"Elizabeth's credentials," Kate joined them, motioning for the tarp to be dropped and two UNIT soldiers did just that, revealing what appeared to be an oil painting…in 3D…depicting a futuristic city that was on fire and in the middle of being destroyed.

"Oh dear…" Mac breathed.

"But... but that's not possible," Clara stared at it, more for the way it was painted than what the painting was of.

The Doctor and Mac just let out a breath as they stared, recognizing not just the artwork but the scene, the city, as well, "No more," the Doctor whispered, dropping his hand from Mac's arm to her hand once more, needing reassurance that he wasn't going mad, that she saw it too…and that she was still there.

That scene, that moment in time, was one of the worst in his memory and it was the moment he'd made a decision, knowing she was on the planet, and he needed to know she was still beside him, alive, that she hadn't been caught in that moment too.

"That's the title," Kate nodded.

"I know the title."

"Also known as _Gallifrey Falls_."

"This painting can't be here," Mac shook her head at it, "Not here, not now…"

"Obviously," Clara agreed.

"No, Clara, it's not the technique that's too early for its time," Mac sighed, "It's what the painting's OF."

"It's the fall of Arcadia, Gallifrey's second city," the Doctor told them.

"But how is it doing that?" Clara stepped forward, trying to touch the painting and seeing it really was only 2D but painted like 3, "How is that possible? It's an oil painting... in 3D."

"That's how Time Lords paint," Mac swallowed hard, not understanding how that could possibly be here, "A painting that's bigger on the inside, like…a moment in time that's been frozen."

"Elizabeth told us where to find it," Kate glanced at them, "And its significance."

"He was there," the Doctor murmured, lost in thought as he stared at the painting.

"Who was?" Clara looked at him as she stepped back to the pale and utterly stunned Time Lords, seeing their expressions she knew it wasn't anything good.

"Me. The other me. The one I don't talk about."

"I don't understand."

"Do you remember, Clara, the time tunnel?" Mac looked at her.

"Vaguely."

"The man at the end, the one you didn't understand how he was the Doctor, a Doctor you hadn't seen?"

Clara thought a moment before nodding, "Yeah, a bit."

"I've had many faces, many lives," the Doctor remarked quietly, "I don't admit to all of them. There's one life I've tried very hard to forget. He was the Doctor who fought in the Time War, and that was the day he did it," he nodded at the painting, "The day _I _did it. The day he killed them all," he squeezed Mac's hand, knowing that saying it out loud, hearing him say it, was painful for them both but her especially, it was the day he'd killed her family, "The last day of the Time War. The war to end all wars between our people and the Daleks. And in that battle, there was a man with more blood on his hands than any other. A man who would commit a crime that would silence the universe, and that man...was me."

Mac squeezed his hand tightly, telling him she wouldn't abandon him now, she had come to terms with what he'd done and WHY he'd done it, for the sake of the Universe, "What I don't understand is that the Time War is done. So why is this here?" she looked at Kate, "Why did you bring us here to look at a painting that you could just lock away with the others?" she knew there was a section of the Gallery that held paintings that the public couldn't see, mostly lost artwork, some alien artwork, she hadn't known there were Gallifreyan pieces hidden there though…

That was something she would have to discuss with Kate later, she'd worked for UNIT for YEARS and hadn't been told about THIS? That was just cruel to keep that part of her culture from her. But…even thinking that, she couldn't tell who had made the paintings, how they had known to use Time Lord art. Was it a Time Lord? It couldn't be from Gallifrey if it was showing the last day of it, there wouldn't have been a time or place to paint that. Had it been another alien imitating their art? She didn't know, but she should have been allowed to see the paintings before, she would have been able to determine it by now.

"The painting only serves as Elizabeth's credentials, proof that the letter is from her," Kate remarked, "It's not why you're here."

Mac frowned and looked down at the letter, she'd only just broken the seal when Kate had asked them to go into the Gallery, so she pulled out the letter and read it quickly.

_My trusted protector,  
__I do hope the painting known as Gallifrey Falls will serve as proof that it is truly Elizabeth who writes to you now as I know you are not one to trust without proof. You will recall that you swore yourself, your Doctor, and your unified army to the safety of my kingdom. In this capacity, I have appointed you as a curator of the Under Gallery where deadly danger to England is locked away. Should any disturbance occur within its walls, it is my wish that you be summoned. God speed to you and your Doctor, Lady Mackenzie._

Mac frowned at the paper, "When did this happen?" she shook he head, looking at the Doctor as he read it over her shoulder, "When did I offer any sort of army to her?" she honestly and truly couldn't remember. She remembered meeting Elizabeth with the Doctor, she remembered trying to help him…in her own rather bad way…keep Elizabeth away from him by telling the woman the less kind facts about him, she had only just started to try and be civil to him after all. She remembered them leaving Elizabeth's in a hurry…but she couldn't for the life of her recall offering her UNIT's services.

"What happened?" the Doctor looked at Kate, realizing he couldn't recall the same.

"Easier to show you," Kate sighed, before turning to lead them off through a small doorway as another scientist got a phone call on the way. They stepped through into the hall, a metal door shutting behind them and into another room where they stopped dead at the sight before them.

It was a portrait, life sized, of three people, the last Doctor, a brunette Mac, and Elizabeth, the woman smiling at them as they stood there dressed in white.

"Elizabeth the First," Clara blinked at it, "You DID know her, then?"

"We met her," Mac corrected, "A long time ago but…we were never dressed like that."

"Could be an um, artists renditioning," the Doctor offered.

"This way," Kate called, moving closer to the painting and swinging it open on a hinge to reveal a dark passageway behind it. She led the through, the lights flickering on to reveal they were in a display room with quite a few statues that were covered in white cloth along the walls. What was odd though, was that there seemed to be sand on the ground, "Welcome to the Under Gallery. This is where Elizabeth I kept all art deemed too dangerous for public consumption."

Clara moved to follow Kate off while the Doctor and Mac paused at the sand, looking down at it. Mac picked up a small bit of it, looking at it through a magnifying glass she pulled out of her pocket, frowning at it as the Doctor crouched down and let it sift through his fingers instead.

"It's not sand," Mac murmured.

"Stone dust," the Doctor agreed.

"Is it important?" Kate called from where she was standing across the room at the other doorway.

"In 1,200 years, I've never stepped in anything that wasn't," he remarked.

Mac frowned and looked back, "Hello, Osgood isn't it?" she asked, seeing the girl lurking behind them.

"Yes," Osgood rushed over.

"Could you be a dear and have this stone dust analyzed?" she asked, gesturing at the ground.

"Yes," Osgood repeated, seeming too stunned to say much of anything else.

"Thank you sweetie."

"Yes, and I want a report in triplicate," the Doctor added, "With lots of graphs and diagrams and complicated sums, on my desk, tomorrow morning, ASAP, pronto, LOL. See? Job," he snapped a finger and pointed to Kate, "Do I have a desk?"

"No," the woman stated.

"And I want a desk!"

"Don't get him a desk," Mac shook her head, "Analyze the dust and please leave it in my lab."

"You've got a lab?" the Doctor turned to her, surprised at that.

"Yes."

"A whole lab?"

"Yes."

"With a desk?"

"Yes!"

"Right then, put it on Kenzie's desk," he grinned at Osgood.

Mac shook her head at the Doctor, "Come on," she took his hand and led him off after Kate and Clara into the next hallway that was full of some older paintings and artifacts, more medieval in design. Mac found herself tugged to a stop by the Doctor as he stopped and spotted a fez in a display case. She let go of his hand so he could jog over and scoop it out.

Clara, who had been looking at what seemed to be a painting of some sort of war with Cybermen in uniforms, turned and crossed her arms as he slipped it onto his head, "Someday, you could just walk past a fez."

"Never going to happen," he grinned, taking Mac's hand once more and resuming their walk after Kate, turning a corner and heading down another hall till they entered a more modern styled room, painted a simple white with a few more paintings hanging on the all, all of 3D oil paintings…but also with shattered glass on the ground before one in particular, a painting of a meadow of sorts.

"As you instructed," a guard saluted Kate when she entered, "Nothing has been touched."

She nodded at the guard as he left and gestured at the room, "This is why we called you in."

"3D again," Clara glanced at the other paintings.

"Interesting," the Doctor murmured, he and Mac more focused on the glass on the ground.

"The broken glass?"

"The breaking of it," Mac corrected, picking up a larger piece, "The shatter pattern makes it seem like the glass was broken from inside the painting outwards, not the other way around."

"As you can see," Kate sighed, "All the paintings are landscapes, no figures of any kind."

"And that matters?" Mac glanced up at her from where she was crouched by the glass.

"It does," Kate nodded, "Because there used to be," she held up a tablet the guard had handed to her to show them the painting, WITH a figure, a shadowy figure, standing on the path that led through the meadow as they gathered around her. She lowered the tablet to show there was no figure in the painting now.

"Something's got out of the paintings?" Clara frowned.

"Lots of somethings," the Doctor eyed the room, seeing the potential for quite a few figures to hide in it, "Dangerous."

"This whole place has been searched," Kate added, "There's nothing here that shouldn't be, and nothing's got out."

Before Mac could even turn to her to offer her some ways to test the paintings and ask for the image to try and run some scans to identify what it was…a swirling white, fissure-like vortex appeared in the air behind them.

"Oh, no!" the Doctor groaned, "Not now!"

"Hold on…" Mac blinked at it, "I recognize that…" but how? It was like a vague recollection.

"What is it?" Clara looked at them.

"No, not now, we're busy!" the Doctor huffed at it, seeming to have a better idea and memory of what it was than Mac did.

"Is it to do with the paintings?" Kate asked.

"No," Mac eyed it closely, "It's different."

"I remember this," the Doctor rubbed his head, "Almost remember..." before he felt the fez and pulled it off, staring at it, "Oh, of course! This is where I come in," he smiled at Kate and Clara, before turning and throwing the fez into the fissure…and taking Mac's hand to run at it, "Geronimo!" he cried, the two of them leaping through it.

The Doctor groaned as he landed on his back, in the middle of a patch of dirt and pile of leaves. He had just let out a breath when he grunted, someone else falling on top of him. His eyes flew open as he saw Mac above him, "Hello," he breathed, unable to look away from her eyes, even now, even different than the last eyes he'd seen of her, they still captivated him.

She smiled softly, her strawberry-blonde hair falling around her shoulder, before she reached out and gently traced his cheek, just…allowing herself a moment of closeness, "Hi."

He smiled as he leaned in, about to kiss her…when someone cleared their throat. His head fell back to the ground, turning to see his previous incarnation standing there with a familiar brunette beside him…along with two identical Queen Elizabeths beside them.

"Who are they?" the Elizabeths demanded as the 10th Doctor put the fez that had flown through the fissure on his head.

"That's just what I was wondering."

"He looks like an idiot," the 7th Mac remarked, crossing her arms and eyeing the two on the ground as they scrambled to get up.

"Oh dear," the 9th Mac looked at their past selves standing there. She started wringing her hands, she remembered how she was in that incarnation. She wasn't the nicest person. She was trying, right now, she knew she was trying to be civil to the Doctor, to let go of her anger, but things did still slip through and she still wasn't quite as trusting with him either.

"Oh, that is skinny," the 11th Doctor eyed his last self, "That is proper skinny. I've never seen it from the outside," he remarked to his Mac, "It's like a special effect. Oi!" he suddenly pouted and hurried over to swipe the fez off of the 10th Doctor's head, "Ha! Matchstick Man!"

"Hold on," the 7th Mac eyed him, "Please tell me you aren't…" she reached into her pocket of her skirt and pulled out a handful of paperclips and rubber bands and a lighter.

"Sorry," the 9th Mac smiled at her, reaching into the pocket of her dress and pulling out much the same, some paperclips and rubber bands, though she had a pen instead.

The Doctors looked at each other, the 10th Doctor seeming to realize that the woman before him was a future Mac, and pulled out his sonic…seeing the 11th Doctor doing the same, the two men flicking them on.

"Compensating?" the 10th asked.

"For what?" the 11th frowned.

"Regeneration," he shrugged, "It's a lottery."

"Oi," he pouted, "I'll have you know, Kenzie loves this incarnation," he stuck his tongue out, flipping his sonic and putting it away.

The 7th Mac looked between her future self and the Doctor's future self, "We…like that?" she eyed him, "The…floppy hair and the bow tie?"

"Bowties are cool," the 9th Mac and 11th Doctor said at the same time, before smiling at each other.

"That's my Chosen," the 11th Doctor grinned, looping an arm around his Mac's shoulders and kissing her temple, though the 9th Mac tensed a little at it, just a little. There were quite a few instances in Elizabethan times of older folk marrying younger so the Doctor's affection wasn't that much of a shock to either Elizabeth, and the two aliens before her were Time Lords too so to them it was perfectly natural.

"CHOSEN!?" the two Time Lords DID react to that one, glancing at each other, the Doctor in shock, the past Mac in alarm.

"How could we EVER agree to be his Chosen after what he did?!" the 7th Mac demanded.

The 9th Mac wrung her hands even more, not wanting to give away too much, "What you think happened and what really did are vastly different things," was all she could say, "And his life depended on it."

The 7th Mac just shook her head, "You've got to be kidding me."

"Look," the 10th Doctor cut in, both overjoyed to find out that he would one day be Mac's Chosen and that they seemed quite happy together, but also more than stung that his Mac was so outraged by the idea of it, "What are you doing here? We were sort of in the middle of something," he gestured at the two Elizabeths.

"Oh, busy?" the 11th scoffed, "I see, is that what we're calling it, eh? Eh?" he put the fez on and bowed to the queens, "Hello, ladies."

"Must you be so immature?" the 7th Mac shook her head at him.

"Never knowingly be serious," was all the 11th gave her in return, grinning despite the near annoyance in her voice. He knew this Mac, he knew what she thought of him and what he'd done on Gallifrey, as much as she was trying to be civil, that would always hang between them till the Master came back.

"Look, you should get back," the 10th tried to help, "One of them is a Zygon."

"Why don't you just cut their hand then?" the 9th Mac offered, making the three look at her, "Zygons have a darker red blood than humans do."

"I…didn't think of that," the 10th Doctor admitted.

"Neither did I," the 7th Mac frowned.

The 9th Mac smiled, "You'd be surprised how much more you can think of when you're not using half your thoughts trying to rationalize your anger fading at the Doctor," she told her gently. This time had been such a hard one for her. She'd been so angry at the Doctor when they were travelling with Donna, it was easy to focus only on that, but this was a transition. This was her actively trying to forgive him or be less angry with him. This was her both trying to rationalize why she shouldn't be so angry at him, but also her own mind arguing with her each time she nearly let go of larger amounts of it that she needed to stay angry because of her family. It was a conflicting time and it consumed more of her thoughts than she had wanted to let on about.

They all spun around when a small whooshing noise sounded and the fissure opened up once more behind them. The Doctors quickly pulled out their glasses, the 10th with his brainy specs, the 11th with Amy's reading glasses, and the 7th Mac slipping her own glasses onto her head as they stared at it. The 9th Mac smiled a bit at the sight, she was the only one not wearing or needing glasses at the moment.

"Oh, lovely!" the two Doctor's noticed their glasses before slipping them off again.

The 7th Mac rolled her eyes and turned to the queens, "You had best run," she told them, "We don't know what that is or what might come through it. You need to be protected so, if you would be so kind, run!"

"But what about the creature?" both women asked.

"Elizabeth, whichever one of you is the real one, turn and run in the opposite direction to the other one," the 10th Doctor called quickly.

The two women nodded and ran off in opposite directions.

"Doctor?" Clara's voice called through the fissure, "Mackenzie? Is that you?"

"Clara dear," the 9th Mac smiled, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," Clara responded, "I'm fine, what about you? Where are you?"

"England," both Macs stated, "1562."

"Who…who's that other one talking?"

"Um…another me, Clara," the 9th Mac offered, "The one from the portrait."

"Oh, ok."

"Can you come back through?" Kate asked.

"Physical passage may not be possible in both directions," the 11th frowned, "It's..."

"Oh for pity's sake," the 7th Mac strode over and grabbed the fez off his head, throwing it back into the fissure to test it, "Did a fez come through…Clara was it?"

"Ah, yes, Clara Oswald, hello!" Clara's cheery voice called, "But um…no fezzes here."

The small group looked at each other with a frown till the 10th Doctor voiced their concerns, "So where did it go?" he turned to the 11th Doctor, "Ok, you used to be me, and you," he looked at the 9th Mac, "Used to be her…"

"Bit of a gap between though," the 9th Mac offered, "9th," she gestured at herself.

"I regenerated twice!?" the 7th Mac huffed, "Wonderful, just brilliant, I'm turning into you," she muttered at the 10th Doctor who gave her a sheepish grin.

"It just happened though," the 9th Mac offered, "Just a little while ago really."

"Ok, but the point is, you've done all this before," the 10th Doctor tried to keep the conversation on point, "What happens next?"

"And that's the point," the 11th Doctor sighed, "We don't remember."

"How can you forget this?!"

"It's not OUR fault. You two are obviously not paying enough attention."

"We're paying perfect attention, thank you," the 7th Mac huffed, "Honestly, how do you put up with that?" she turned to herself.

"He IS right though," the 9th Mac smiled apologetically, "He's paying attention to you," she nodded at the 10th Doctor, "And you're torn between your anger and forgiveness. Makes it hard to recall the finer details later. Why don't one of you try to just reverse the polarity," she looked at the Doctors.

They blinked, considering that, before they turned and aimed their sonics at the fissure…but nothing happened.

The 7th Mac rubbed her head, "You're BOTH reversing the polarity," she grumbled, "You're canceling each other out. Which would be why she said ONE of you do it. Don't you ever learn to listen?" she looked at the 10th Doctor for that.

"Why are you asking ME?" he huffed a bit, "I'm not the one who should have learned the lesson by now," he jerked a thumb at the 11th Doctor.

The 9th Mac let out a small laugh.

"Is something funny?" the 7th Mac turned to her.

"A bit yeah," she nodded, "It's just, looking at you two, it's a miracle we got together, isn't it?" she smiled at her Doctor.

He just grinned and kissed her temple, "Best thing that ever happened to me though," he smiled softly at her.

"It has to be a parallel world," the 7th Mac muttered, making them look over, seeing her shaking her head while the 10th Doctor looked sadly down at that, at her blatant denial that she could ever reach a point where they were like that, happy and in love.

There was another whoosh and they spun around to see an older man standing behind them, a fez in hand.

"Ooh dear," the 9th Mac blinked.

"Anyone lose a fez?" the man asked.

The Doctors immediately stepped back, pulling their Macs with them as they stared in horror at the man before them, "You," the 10th Doctor gaped, "How can you be here? More to the point, WHY are you here?!"

The man seemed unperturbed though, "Good afternoon," he greeted politely, "I'm...looking for the Doctor."

"How can YOU be here?" the 7th Mac just stared at him, shaking her head, all of them knew who it was, it was the Doctor from the war.

"I was sent through to find the Doctor," the War Doctor repeated.

"You've certainly come to the right place," the 10th murmured.

"Good!" he grinned, "Right! Well, who are you boys and girls? Oh, of course! Are you his companions?"

"His companions?" the 11th blinked.

"They get younger all the time!" he chuckled, "Well, for the most part," he gave the 9th Mac a pleasant smile but her own just tightened at the reminder that she appeared older than all the other Time Lords beside her save the War Doctor himself, "Well, if you could point me in the general direction of the Doctor..." he trailed off as both Macs did just that and pointed to their Doctors, "Really?"

"I know that feeling," the 7th Mac muttered.

"You're me? Both of you?"

"Yep," the 10th Doctor nodded.

"Even that one?" he pointed to the 11th.

"Yes!" the 11th cried, indignant.

"You're my future selves."

"I think we've covered that," the 7th Mac nearly snapped, "My god, NO version of you listens do they?"

"Am I having a mid-life crisis?" he huffed, "Then are YOU the companions?" he looked at the girls.

"We'll we're not pilots," the 7th Mac scoffed.

The 9th Mac smiled at that, that was something that would always sting whenever the idea of companions and piloting was brought up, they could never be one, "Unofficially, we are though," she told herself, "And unofficially, we'll have a companion one day too."

"You're…Time Ladies?" the War Doctor eyed them, "The…same one?" he guessed, if his future selves were there perhaps the woman with them were just the same one at a different time too.

"What was your first clue?" the 7th Mac asked dryly.

"Agent Mackenzie, of UNIT," the 9th Mac opened her ID, only to blink and look at it, "Oh, sorry, last self," she smiled apologetically and put it away.

"Dear god, I start to sound like Harriet Jones don't I?" the 7th Mac groaned.

"Um…he doesn't know who Mackenzie is," the 10th Doctor reminded them.

"Right yes," the 11th looked around, making sure there was no one there, "Um…well, we always wanted a life with Naery, didn't we?"

The War Doctor's mouth nearly dropped open, "Naery?" he breathed, stepping closer, but the men stepped back, tugging their Macs with them, "I'm not going to hurt them!"

"Doubt that," the 7th Mac shook her head at him, "I doubt that _very_ much."

"You won't mean to," the 9th added, hearing the bitter tone in her past self's voice, seeing the Doctors flinching out of the corner of her eyes, "But…you will do things, and…you have done things, that hurt me, um…us? Deeply."

The War Doctor looked at his future selves to see them either looking down or looking at Mac with such agonizing sorrow and guilt in their eyes. He could see the pain in what appeared to be the younger Mac's face, the resigned acceptance in the elders, and tried to step forward again, wanting to comfort them, never having thought he'd be able to see her again, be WITH her like he was now, even now he could see while one was distant, the future most Mac seemed to lean into him, but the men lifted their sonics as though to keep him at bay, "Why are you pointing your screwdrivers like that?" he snapped, not sure if he was aggravated at their repeated actions or how said actions were clearly meant to kep him away from the woman who had held his hearts for centuries, "They're scientific instruments, not water pistols. Look like you've seen a ghost!"

"Still..." the 10th Doctor slowly lowered his sonic, "Loving the posh, gravelly thing. It's very convincing."

"Brave words, Dick Van Dyke," the 11th muttered, lowing his as well when suddenly a group of soldiers burst into the area and surrounded them, aiming their pikes and swords and weapons at them.

"Encircle them!" one of the soldiers in command ordered as they were enclosed, forcing the men to lift their sonics again, though this time both Macs rolled their eyes at it, "Which of you is the Doctor? The Queen of England is bewitched. I would have the Doctor's head."

"Well, this has all the makings of your lucky day," the War Doctor remarked.

"You should have said so a few years ago," the 7th Mac mumbled, "I'd have helped you then."

"Believe me, you really wouldn't," the 9th Mac countered, "No matter what we feel…we never wanted him dead."

"I think there's three of them now," Clara's voice seemed to whisper to someone, though they could still hear her.

"There's a precedent for that," Kate reassured her.

"Yes, you're welcome for that Kate!" both Macs called to her.

"What is that?" the lead guard stared at the fissure.

"Oh, the pointing again," the War Doctor seemed to notice the sonics up once more, "They're screwdrivers! What are you going to do, assemble a cabinet at them?"

"Well, I've got a pen and a toothpick," the 9th Mac countered, "I could take out a man or two with that."

"And I've got a rubber band and some tacks," the 7th Mac agreed, "Could take someone's eye out with it."

"Yeah," the 11th Doctor grinned, draping his arm around his Mac, "So don't knock the sonic."

"That thing..." the guard remained focused on it instead of his prisoners, "What witchcraft is it?"

"Ah, yes! Now that you mention it, that is witchcraft, yes, yes, yes. Witchy-witchcraft. Hello? Hello in there?" he called louder, "Excuse me. Hello! Am I talking to the wicked witch of the well? Clara?"

"Hello?" Clara's voice came through, sounding unsure.

"Clara, hi, hello. Hello. Would you mind telling these prattling mortals to get themselves begone?"

"What...he said."

"If you could put a little more fear of God in it Miss Oswald," the 7th Mac crossed her arms.

"Right," Clara cleared her throat, "Prattling mortals, off you pop, or I'll turn you all into frogs?"

"Oh, frogs, nice," the 11th Doctor grinned, "You heard her!"

"Mackenzie, what's going on?" Clara called.

"It's a...timey-wimey thing," the 11th Doctor offered instead.

"Timey...what?" the War Doctor gaped at him, "Timey-wimey?"

"You're even more of an idiot in the future then," the 7th Mac shook her head at her Doctor.

"I've no idea where he picks that stuff up," the 10th Doctor tried to defend.

"The Queen!" one of the soldiers called as Elizabeth, one of them anyway, stepped into the small clearing, everyone but the Time Lords dropping to a kneel on the ground.

"You don't seem to be kneeling," the woman observed, "How tremendously brave of you."

"Or how tremendously stupid," the 7th Mac sighed, "Hard to tell these days."

"Which one are you?" the 10th frowned at her, "What happened to the other one?"

"Indisposed," the queen smirked, "Long live the Queen!"

"Long live the Queen!" the soldiers chanted.

"Arrest these five," the queen ordered, "Take them to the Tower."

"That is not the Queen of England, that's an alien duplicate!" the 10th Doctor pointed at her.

"Oh Doctor for once stop using your mouth and start using your brain!" the 7th Mac nearly groaned, "You REALLY think they'd believe that?"

"Actually," the 11th Doctor smiled, "That is a good thing, yes, yes, love the Tower. Breakfast at eight, please. Will there Wi-Fi?"

"Are you capable of speaking without flapping your hands about?" the War Doctor asked him, seeing how over-excited his mannerisms got when he talked.

"You're like an over excited puppy," the 7th Mac agreed.

"He IS adorable though," the 9th Mac smiled at him before casting her past self a glance, "And we WILL trust him one day, so," she turned to the soldiers, "Come on, come on, you're not following orders very well."

"Yes, we demand to be incarcerated in the Tower immediately with my co-conspirators, Sandshoes, the Prioress, MacGyver, and Granddad!"

"Granddad?" the War Doctor huffed.

"They're not sandshoes," the 10th Doctor complained.

"MacGyver, dear, really?" the 9th Mac laughed.

But the 7th Mac was none too pleased, "A Prioress?"

"Well you are rather severe," the 11th Doctor shrugged, thinking of nuns in wimples and other things.

"Silence!" the queen cut in, "The Tower is not to be taken lightly. Very few emerge again."

~8~

"Oi, you lot," the jailer let out gruffly as he shoved the three Doctors into a cell, the Macs already inside, the man treating them only slightly better, "Get in there!"

"Ow!" the War Doctor winced as the door was shut behind them.

The two Macs immediately went to the door and examined it and the lock as the Doctors looked around. The 11th Doctor picked up a nail and looked at it before moving over to a pillar in the cell and started to scratch something into the rock. The War Doctor moved over to the Macs when the 10th Doctor pulled them away from him, making him sigh but turn to scan the door with his own sonic.

"Five of us in one cell," the 10th Doctor sighed, "That's going to cause some nasty anomalies if we don't get out soon," he glanced at the 11th Doctor, "What are you doing?"

"Getting us out," he remarked.

The 10th shook his head at that and turned to look at the War Doctor, "The sonic won't work on that, it's too primitive."

"And wood," the 7th Mac added, "And since, Mr. Smith over there," she nodded at the 11th, "Hasn't tried to use his own sonic, I can only assume you still have yet to get it to work on wood?"

The 11th Doctor just stuck out his tongue at her and went back to his carving.

"Children, stop fighting," the 9th Mac cut in.

"Ok," the 10th Doctor got back to point, "So the Queen of England is now a Zygon, but never mind that, why are we all together? Why are we all here? Well, me and...Chinny and the Mackenzies, we were surprised. But you," he looked at the War Doctor, "You came looking for us, you knew it was going to happen. Who told you?"

The Macs exchanged a glance, seeing the War Doctor's gaze flicker to a spot between the two Doctors but not at one of them and looked over…but there was no one there.

"Oi!" the 11th stopped a moment, the 10th's words just catching up to him, "'Chinny?'"

"You DO have a chin dear," the 9th Mac smiled at him, walking over to see what he was carving.

He pouted at that, before he blinked, "And this new you…" he gave her a pointed look.

She laughed slightly, "Still not a chin woman I'm afraid. Not quite sure what I am."

He sighed but nodded, getting back to his carving.

"In theory," the War Doctor began, "I can trigger an isolated sonic shift among the molecules, and the door should disintegrate."

"That's one way to do it," the 7th Mac agreed, she and her other self had already thought of a few ways to get the door open but they were both curious to see what the Doctors would come up with. If they didn't come up with it soon, before the time distortions of them being in one place for so long started to happen, then they would get them out of there, but for now…it was a once in a life time opportunity to see so many Doctors in one place for them at least.

"We'd have to calculate the exact harmonic resonance of the entire structure down to a sub-atomic level," the 10th Doctor shook his head, "Even the sonic would take years."

"No, no," the War Doctor sighed, "The sonic would take centuries. Oh, we might as well get started," he moved to sit on a bench by the door, "Help to pass the 'timey-wimey,'" he glanced at his future selves, "You're older than me, do you have to talk like children? What is it that makes you so ashamed of being a grown-up?" both Doctors paused and glanced at him a moment, but couldn't keep eye contact for long and looked away, looked down, looked anywhere but at the man they had both come to loathe and blame for the guilt they bore, "Oh, the way you both look at me. What is that? I'm trying to think of a better word than 'dread.'"

"Perhaps there is no better word," the 7th Mac remarked.

"It must be really recent for you," the 10th Doctor eyed him.

"Recent?" the War Doctor frowned.

"The Time War, the last day," the 11th elaborated, "The day you killed them all."

"The day WE killed them all," the 10th corrected.

"Same thing."

The Macs frowned, watching the War Doctor more than their own Doctors, they'd spent so long with their own Doctors that they didn't need to look at them to know what was going on in their heads, didn't need to see their expressions to know what they were thinking, but the War Doctor…he was another story. He seemed to be looking at something beyond all of them, listening to something, and when he spoke next, his words were directed to the air beside him instead of at them, "I don't talk about it."

"You're not talking about it," the 10th Doctor turned in time for the War Doctor to redirect his gaze but the Macs had seen it and glanced at each other, realizing there was something there speaking to the Doctor, "There's no one else but us here."

"Did you ever count?" the War Doctor asked after a moment.

"Count what?" the 11th inquired.

"How many children there were on Gallifrey that day."

They all stiffened at that.

"Why would you ever ask that?" the 9th Mac breathed, staring at the War Doctor in horror, her hands wringing in front of her.

The 11th glanced at her and then back at the wall, "I have absolutely no idea," he answered quickly, scratching again.

"How old are you now?" the War Doctor eyed the 11th.

"Ah...I don't know, I lose track. Twelve hundred and something, I think, unless I'm lying. I can't remember if I'm lying about my age, that's how old I am."

"400 years older than me. And in all that time, you've never even wondered how many there were? You never once counted?"

"Please stop bringing it up," the 9th Mac pleaded, the 7th her just turning away, turning her back on the War Doctor, crossing her arms and she could tell her past self was closing up against the man.

"Tell me... what would be the point?" the 11th tried to get him to stop as well…

And then the 10th had to answer, "2.47 billion."

"You DID count!" the War Doctor exclaimed.

"Don't sound so happy about it!" the 7th Mac snapped at him, her eyes narrowed.

"You forgot?" the 10th shook his head at the 11th Doctor as he just kept scratching, though the 11th's eyes were on the 9th Mac, "400 years? Is that all it takes?"

"I moved on," the 11th murmured.

"Where?! Where can you be now that you can forget something like that?"

"Spoilers."

"No," the 10th shook his head, glaring, "No, no, no. For once, I would like to know where I'm going."

"No. You really wouldn't," the 11th grit his teeth, "Just trust me, we HAD to forget it."

"And why's that?"

"Because a small portion of that number were MY family!" the 9th Mac finally exploded, tears in her eyes, "_My _family was STILL alive when you burned the planet, ok? And to think about that, to think about all the others and KNOW my family is a part of that number breaks my hearts," she shook her head at the 10th Doctor, "And he was trying to spare me by not thinking about it constantly."

The 7th Mac eyed her a moment, "You can hear his thoughts?" she whispered, "We…we reestablish that connection?"

The 9th Mac swallowed hard, "Yes," she nodded, "We do and having that in his head…" she shook her head again, "It upset us, so he pushed it out. For us."

"I don't know who you are...any of you," the War Doctor breathed, staring at them, the people before him…he couldn't imagine the men being him, he couldn't imagine the women being Naery, they were so unlike her. The man who regrets, the man who forgets, the woman who's mad, the woman who's sad…that wasn't a life he'd ever wanted for his Naery but it was one he'd condemned her to two-fold it seemed, first in activating his Contract, and then again in what he had done (or was going to do) to Gallifrey.

"No," he breathed.

"No?" the 10th Doctor scoffed, looking at him.

"Just...no! This…this can't be what our future is," he looked at them, though his gaze lingered on the women.

"It's the future you condemned us to with what you did," the 7th Mac shrugged, "Once again, you decided MY future for me."

"It was, and always would be for the same reason Naey," the 10th Doctor looked at her solemnly, "It was for the best," the 11th Doctor let out a small laugh to himself, making the 10th spin to face him, "Is something funny? Did I miss a funny thing?"

"Sorry," the 11th gave a small smile, "It just occurred to me. This is what I'm like when I'm alone," he looked at his Mac, "Makes me so glad I'm not anymore."

The 9th Mac reached out and took his hand, squeezing it.

"400 years!" the War Doctor suddenly shouted, making them jump and look over at him, not quite sure what he meant but he was staring at his sonic.

"Sorry?" the 9th Mac blinked at him.

"At a software level, they're all the same device, aren't they?" the man smiled, "Same software, different case."

"Yeah," the 10th Doctor nodded, "So..."

The 7th Mac rolled her eyes, "So if it takes centuries for the calculations to disintegrate the door, if HE starts it now, 400 years later…" she gestured between the three men.

The War Doctor scanned the door, "And…implanting the calculation as a permanent subroutine in the software architecture and..."

The 10th Doctor blinked and looked at his sonic, holding it to his ear, "Calculation's still going…"

The 11th pulled out his own and held it up, "Calculation complete! 400 years in four seconds. We may have our differences, which is frankly odd in the circumstances, but I tell you what, boys, we are incredibly clever!"

"Not quite so clever," the 9th Mac moved to the door and opened it a moment before Clara nearly toppled in, "The door was unlocked the whole time."

"What?!" the men shouted.

"And even if it wasn't, it's far too easy to get out," the 7th her agreed.

"What?" the men frowned.

"Could have picked the lock," the 9th Mac suggested.

"Or used this bullet," the 7th pulled a small one from her pocket, "For the powder, into the lock, and used a spark to blow it up."

"Or made a bit of a fire just under the door with this," the 9th held up her lighter, "And drawn the guards here so that they'd open the doors."

"Or even pretended one of you were ill and lured a guard in to check," the 7th nodded, "There's a few more, but we suppose you get the picture, yes?"

"…what?" the men repeated.

"I suppose he won't ever grow out of that then," the 9th Mac remarked, thinking of how the 10th Doctor had repeatedly said 'what…what? What?!' all the time. But she shook her head and looked at Clara, "Are you alright Clara?"

"Yeah," Clara nodded, rushing to hug her, "Glad I found you, there were these creatures with suckers and Kate took me got me this Vortex Manipulator," she held up her wrist, "But it wasn't Kate and I saw this code…" she pointed at what the 11th Doctor had just finished scratching, "And they're both you, then, yeah?" she looked from the two Macs to the three Doctors.

"Yes," the 11th Doctor nodded, "You've met them before, don't you remember?"

"A bit," Clara nodded, "Even remember a little of her," she nodded at the 7th Mac, vaguely recalling something about a Library, before her gaze turned to the 10th Doctor, "Nice suit!"

"Thanks," the 10th Doctor winked at her.

"So…is this your newest Companion?" the 7th Mac eyed Clara.

"Actually…OUR companion," the 9th Mac smiled, "Unofficially of course."

"Hold on," Clara frowned and turned to her Mac, "All of you in one cell, and you only thought to try the door now?"

The Macs shrugged, they'd just wanted to show the Doctors that they always went for the complicated approaches when really there were far more simpler methods.

"It should have been locked," the War Doctor frowned.

"Yes, exactly!" the 11th agreed, "Why wasn't it locked?"

"Because I was fascinated to see what you would do upon escaping," Elizabeth remarked, sauntering in from the halls, "I understand you're rather fond of this world. It's time I think you saw what's going to happen to it," she smirked and turned, leading them out, leaving them little choice but to follow…

A/N: I've been literally trying to post this since 6am :( My internet was doing that thing where you can get like google...but any other website went to 'webpage cannot be displayed' :( I've been refreshing the FF site like every 10 minutes since about 7am and it FINALLY picked up! Woo! :)

I was SO tempted to do the scene where we see 10 and 7th Mac with Elizabeth and being chased by the Zygon, but I sort of wanted to follow the current Mac and Doctor from their POV since they'd forget quite a lot of what would be happening as the 10th and War-Doctor ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Yup, my next TL will appear in Series 7 and be the Doctor's wife ;)

I can't say if River will be rescued from the Library, it'll depend on how the show goes. If we ever get to a point where AK is officially not doing any more as River Song and we find out yes or no if the Doctor eventually was able to rescue her, I'll definitely have something more about it in this particular story, since she's their daughter here ;)


	21. Day of the Doctor - Part 2

Day of the Doctor - Part 2

The small group of Time Lords and Clara followed Elizabeth down a hall to what appeared to be an almost underground room where a Zygon base was set up. There were quite a few working away at some machines set up before rather large 3D oil paintings, "The Zygons lost their own world," the queen stated, "It burned in the first days of the Time War. A new home is required."

"So they want this one?" Clara frowned.

"No," the 7th Mac shook her head, "If they wanted this one they'd have taken over now."

"Yes," the queen agreed, "Earth is far too primitive at the moment. Zygons are used to a certain level of comfort."

"Commander," one of the Zygons stopped when they spotted her, "Why are these creatures here?"

"Because I say they should be," her eyes narrowed, "It is time you too were translated," she nodded at the machines and the Zygon growled but walked over to where a small glass cube was resting on a pedestal, "Observe this. I believe you will find it fascinating."  
They turned to watch as the Zygon, upon resting its hand on the cube was then sucked into the painting, reappearing as the shadowy figure in the meadow painting.

"That's him!" Clara blinked, "That's the Zygon in the picture now."

"Not a picture exactly," the 9th Mac remarked, "Time Lord art makes it more like a stasis cube, those glass cubes there. It's more a frozen moment of time."

"Bigger on the inside," the War Doctor agreed, "But could be deployed as..."

"Suspended animation," the 10th realized, "Oh, that's very good. The Zygons all pop inside the pictures, wait a few centuries till the planet's a bit more interesting, and then out they come."

"You see, Clara," the 11th began, "They're stored in the paintings in the Under Gallery, like Cup-a-Soups. Except you add time, if you can picture that. Nobody could picture that. Forget I said Cup-a-Soups."

"Do we really choose to be HIS Chosen?" the 7th Mac looked at her future self, "Were we under duress?"

"Is it really that hard to believe we might one day overcome our issues?" the 10th Doctor frowned at her.

"Sometimes," the 7th admitted.

Clara frowned and looked between them, "Hold on…you're NOT Chosens right now?"

It won't happen for a few years more Clara," the 9th Mac told her, "For them at least. And I do believe we have more pressing concerns to deal with than the state of our relationships," she gave the past Time Lords a look, "Right now the Zygons are waiting to conquer the world from the past."

"Right, yes," the 10th Doctor nodded, glancing at Elizabeth, "And do you know why I know that you're a fake? Because you're such a bad copy. It's not just the smell, or the unconvincing hair, or the atrocious teeth, or the eyes just a bit too close together, or the breath that could stun a horse, it's because my Elizabeth, the real Elizabeth, would never be stupid enough to reveal her own plan. Honestly, why would you do that?"

"Because it's _not_ my plan," the queen said dryly, "And I AM the real Elizabeth."

"Prove it," the 7th Mac eyed her.

"How?"

The 9th Mac sighed and pulled her small pocket knife out of her pocket, handing it to her, "Your blood will be a very dark red if you're the Zygon."

Elizabeth shook her head, "I have my own thank you," she lifted her skirt and pulled out a jeweled dagger instead from a garter on her leg, using it to prick her finger and show them the bright red blood, "Proof enough?" she glared at the 10th Doctor.

"Ok," he rubbed the back of his neck in discomfort, "So...backtracking a moment, just to lend some context to my earlier remarks..."

The queen rolled her eyes, "My twin is dead in the forest. I am accustomed to taking precautions," she waved the dagger around, "These Zygon creatures never even considered that it was me who survived, rather than their own commander. The arrogance that typifies their kind."

"Zygons?" Clara frowned.

"Men!"

"And you actually killed one of them?"

"I may have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but at the time, so did the Zygon," the queen smirked, holding her head up high before turning to the 7th Mac, "The future of my kingdom is imperilled. My Lady Mackenzie, can I rely on your service and that of your unified taskforce?"

"You can," the 7th Mac nodded, "This is what they train for, but UNIT only exists in the future."

"Then we'll need my TARDIS," the 10th Doctor remarked.

"It has been procured already," the queen nodded, making him smile before she smirked, "But first, I do believe there was a promise to keep between the two of you?" she looked at the 7th Mac and 10th Doctor.

"What…what promise was that?" the 11th Doctor frowned, he and the 9th Mac looking equally confused.

"A wedding of course," Elizabeth grinned.

~8~

As it turned out, at some point, Elizabeth had begun to think that all of the 7th Mac's utterances against the 10th Doctor, of all his crimes and ill-doings and shortcomings were more her own jealousy coming out and had endeavored to see what she claimed to be a loving couple married. She was entirely convinced that the 7th Mac had said it all because she had been trying to drive Elizabeth away from the 10th Doctor out of her own love for the man and refused to give them access to the TARDIS until they were wed.

Literally.

They were now standing before a minister, the War Doctor and Clara on one side, the 9th Mac and 11th Doctor on the other, with Elizabeth behind them…and her guards surrounding them, two of which had their pikes aimed dangerously close to the wedding couple's backs.

"Oh dear, dear, dear," the 9th Mac murmured.

"What?" the 11th Doctor looked at her as the minister proclaimed the duo husband and wife…the soldiers prodding them gently to kiss.

"Our entire relationship was even more out of order than I thought," she smiled a bit, "We were married before we were Chosens, before we even began to court," she glanced at him, "Before you even began to try and woo me."

He had to smile as he watched the two kiss, seeming to kiss just a bit longer than if they truly had no future together, "Suppose it was the Universe's way of making amends for the muck up the first time around."

"We didn't remember it though," she reminded him.

"But now we do," he smiled at that, thinking on it, she was his wife now apparently, not just his Chosen.

"Is there a lot of this in the future?" the War Doctor called over to them.

"It does start to happen, yeah," the 11th Doctor sighed, "But we tend to try and limit it to just Kenzie," he took her hand.

"God speed, my protectors," Elizabeth smiled.

"We'll be right back," the 10th Doctor promised, "And help you clean up the whole Zygon mess in your basement. Give us a call if you ever need our help," he winked at her before taking the 7th Mac's hand and running for the TARDIS before the woman could insist they head to their honeymoon or something.

He quickly unlocked the door and let them all in, the group rushing to the console…right when he started to bang it with a mallet.

"Stop that!" the 7th Mac huffed, grabbing it from him.

"You've let this place go a bit!" the War Doctor looked around at the 10th Doctor's console room.

"Tell me about it," the 7th Mac huffed, "He refuses to let the TARDIS pick the desktop."

"Ah, it's his grunge phase," the 11th Doctor offered, "He grows out of it."

"Don't you listen to them!" the 10th patted the console…only for an alarm to go off, the console sparking as a light flashed and the room was suddenly different. The walls were white with round circles cut into them, "Ooh! The desktop is glitching."

"Five of us from different time zones, it's trying to compensate," the War Doctor frowned.

"Hey, look, the round things!" the 11th pointed at the walls.

"I love the round things," the 10th Doctor grinned.

"What ARE the round things?"

"No idea."

The 9th Mac shook her head, "They're the roundels," she reminded them, "They're meant to be covers for the circuitry or even storage compartments," she looked at the 11th Doctor, "This is why you should have kept the manual."

Before he could respond an alarm went off and the Time Lords all rushed to a different section of the console to help, Clara moving over to the monitor as it was the simplest area for her to stand and try to help.

"Oh, dear," the 9th Mac murmured, "It's the friction contrafibulator."

The 11th Doctor grabbed lever and pulled it, making the TARDIS glitch once more before settling into the most current version of the console room, the one he and the 9th Mac travelled in with Clara, "Ha! There! Stabilized."

"Oh," the 10th Doctor looked around, "You've redecorated! I don't like it."

"I like it more than yours," the 7th Mac countered.

"Listen," the 11th Doctor rolled his eyes, "We don't have time. We've got to get back to the National Gallery, the Zygons are underneath it…"

"No," Clara shook her head, "UNIT HQ, they followed us there in the Black Archive…" she trailed off as the Doctors looked at her in stunned alarm while the Macs closed their eyes and shook their heads, "Ok...so you've heard of that, then."

"We were the ones who TARDIS proofed it," the Macs said at once as the men looked at them.

"You TARDIS proofed the Black Archive?!" the 11th Doctor gaped at the 9th Mac.

"Why would you DO that?" the 10th stared at the 7th Mac.

"Because knowing you, you'd go swooping in there and end up setting off the nuclear warhead buried under it!" the 7th Mac huffed, crossing her arms.

The 9th Mac winced at that. She'd been a part of helping tighten the security measures of the archive. She'd tweaked their memory loss portions, SHE had been the one to ensure it would be TARDIS proof. In her anger she'd been all too keen to do anything to keep the Doctor OUT of UNIT.

"We can still contact them," she tried to offer, looking at her Doctor, "I made sure they wouldn't touch the Space-Time Telegraph."

The 11th Doctor sighed and nodded, turning to the controls to try and connect it back to that device he'd given the Brig.

"…would destroy London?" someone who sounded like Kate began to speak over the comms as he tapped into it.

"To save the world?" a second Kate spoke, "Yes, I would."

"You're bluffing."

"You really think so? Somewhere in your memory is a man called Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. I'm his daughter."

"'Science leads,' Kate," the 11th called out at that, "Is that what you meant? Is this what your father meant?"

"Doctor?"

"I told you not to ever disable the Space-Time Telegraph, Kate," the 9th Mac stepped beside him, "This was why."

"The Doctors know about the Archive," the 7th Mac rolled her eyes, "We've had to tell them about the security protocols."

"Kate, please, please, tell me you are not about to do something unbelievably stupid!" the 11th Doctor called out.

"I'm sorry, Doctor, Agent Mackenzie," Kate sighed, "Switch it off."

"Not as sorry as you will be," the 10th tried, "This is not a decision you will _ever_ be able to live with."

The TARDIS shook, "What part of TARDIS-proof did you not get Doctor!?" the 7th Mac snapped before rushing to another control to try and pilot the box away from any more foolhardy attempts to get it to land in a room it couldn't enter.

"I said switch it off!" Kate hissed to someone.

"Kate, please," the 9th Mac pleaded, "Listen to us a moment sweetheart…"

But the comms went to static.

"We need another way in," the 10th turned to the Macs, "You both made it this way, you must know some way to get us to land there."

"We don't need to land," the War Doctor cut in.

"Yeah, we do, a tiny bit. Try and keep up."

"No, we don't. We don't. There is another way," he picked up the stasis cube that he'd nicked from the Zygons, "Cup-a-Soup!" he grinned as the other Doctors shared his smile, "What is Cup-a-Soup?"

"No time," the 11th clapped him on the shoulder, before rushing to the phone and calling the scientist they'd passed in the gallery before.

But the 9th Mac snatched the phone from him, "Agent McGillop," she greeted the moment it was picked up, "Agent Mackenzie…" she blinked, "Yes, I know, we were just there, talking to Kate. Time Travel, keep up, right now I'm ordering you to have the portrait of Gallifrey Falls transported to the Black Archive. No questions asked, just do it."

The 11th Doctor looked around at them as she hung up, "Ready?" he swallowed hard, looking at the group as they nodded.

~8~

The TARDIS flew out of the portrait of Gallifrey Falls moments after a Dalek went flying out of it, shattering the glass as it exploded. It landed just off to the side of the room, the doors being thrown open as the Macs and Clara ran out to see the Doctors stepping out of the portrait. The men had gone out there to break the glass while the Macs stayed inside with Clara to pilot the box out, not sure if they'd be able to go back into the picture to get it out later.

"Hello," the War Doctor greeted the humans and Zygons already in the room. There were two sets of Kates, Osgoods, and McGillops standing there on either side of a table, the nuclear countdown ticking away between them, set into the wall.

"I'm the Doctor," the 10th smiled, knowing that they already knew who Mac was as she'd worked for them.

"Sorry about the Dalek," the 11th winced.

"Also the showing off," Clara mumbled.

"Glad you agree he's got an enormous head," the 7th Mac murmured.

"Hush," the 9th Mac stepped past them and walked towards Kate, "Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, have you any idea what on earth you're doing?!"

"The countdown can only be halted at my personal command," one of the Kates spoke, "There's nothing you can do."

"Really?" the 7th Mac crossed her arms, "We've worked for UNIT for how long and you don't think we can't work out a way around this?"

"Easy," the 10th Doctor nodded, "We make you both agree to halt it."

"Not even for five of you," one Kate shook her head.

"You're about to murder millions of people," the War Doctor frowned.

"To save billions. How many times have you made that calculation?"

"Once," the 11th frowned, "Turned me into the man I am now. I'm not even sure who that is any more."

"You tell yourself it's justified," the 10th agreed, moving to the head of the table, "But it's a lie."

"Because doing what he did," the 7th Mac shook her head, "It was wrong and all it did was cause endless suffering for others."

The 9th Mac glanced at the War Doctor to see him looking near Clara but not quite at her, more to the side at something else.

"And because I got it wrong..." the 11th nodded, "I'm going to make you...get it right."

The two Doctors grabbed a chair over to the end of the table and sat down, crossing their feet up on the table and crossing their arms across their chests in unison.

"How?" Kate scoffed.

"I could order you," the 7th Mac mused, "My authority goes above even yours."

"But it's not YOUR voice print," Kate reminded her, with Time Lords and how often they regenerated, how their voices changed, they couldn't risk making Mac's voice the key, "And I wouldn't follow that order anyway, you wouldn't be able to reprimand me later either if it goes off."

"Any second now, you're going to stop that countdown," the 10th Doctor spoke up, "Both of you. Together."

"Then you're going to negotiate the most perfect treaty of all time," the 11th agreed.

"And we'll make sure it's fair for ALL of you," the 9th Mac spoke, returning her attention to the other Doctors.

"And the key to perfect negotiation..." the 11th Doctor smiled.

"Blurring the lines of whose side you're on," the 7th Mac crossed her arms, "You forget Kate, I was the one who tweaked the memory wipes."

"So," the 11th Doctor cried as he and the 10th jumped onto the table before them, "For the next few hours, until we decide to let you out..."

"No one in this room will be able to remember if they're human," the 10th whipped out his sonic.

"Or Zygon," the 9th Mac finished as the men flashed their sonics at the memory wipes, making the memories of all the humans with a duplicate there erase their species from them.

"Cancel the detonation!" both Kates shouted a moment later just as the clock reached 5 seconds.

The 11th Doctor grinned and slipped his sonic away, "Peace in our time."

~8~

The two Macs stood side by side before the TARDIS looking at the Kates and McGillops and Osgoods discussing things with their Zygons, the Doctors nearby to help, but their gazes were locked on the youngest yet oldest version of him as he spoke to Clara, "Do you think they realized," the 9th Mac wondered, "That he hasn't done it yet?"

The 7th Mac sighed, "Has he gotten less oblivious with age?"

"No."

"Then I doubt it," she shook her head.

It was all too obvious to them that the War Doctor hadn't used the moment yet, they could see it in his eyes, eyes that weren't nearly as haunted as their own Doctors' were. They didn't know why he was there, perhaps it was like at Lake Silencio, he had to see the future to know it would happen. They weren't sure but they couldn't for the life of them think of what they could do or say to the man about the situation. Well, they both knew what they'd say, and it would be vastly different. One would say don't do it, don't kill them, and the other would just tell him one day she'd understand and that it was for the fate of the entire universe. So they both kept silent, what happened now was going to happen no matter what and they…they didn't want to be an influence in it. One because she knew saying not to do it wouldn't matter, he'd do it anyway and she'd be a failure for stopping him. The other because saying she understood might make him more inclined to do it and then it would be on her that she'd encouraged him to do it and she just…she wasn't as strong as the Doctor was, if it were HER choice she wouldn't have been strong enough. Perhaps, in the grand scope, it had been a blessing to him to lose his family the way he had, he'd had nothing tying him to the planet, nothing holding him back from destroying it all like she did.

"Doctor?" Clara called, jumping up from where she'd been sitting, "Mackenzie!" she looked around, "He's gone! I don't know where he went!"

"Probably off into space," the 11th Doctor sighed.

"I didn't stay around very long after I used the Moment," the 10th agreed.

"No but…" Clara shook her head, "He hasn't yet. He hasn't used the Moment!"

"What?!" the men glanced at each other, before they took off to their individual TARDISes. The other TARDIS, the 11th Doctor's, had been carted in upon order by Kate to rest there. The Macs ran after them, knowing what their Doctors would try to do and for once not knowing whether they should support them or stop them.

~8~

The two TARDISes set down at the end of a small barn on a planet near Gallifrey, the Doctors and Macs and Clara stepping out to see the War Doctor standing before the moment. It was an intricate box with clockwork pieces designed into the sides, a pipe sticking out with what looked like a metal flower on top, a big red button resting on it, ready to push. It was said that the Moment possessed a consciousness and could decide who to destroy or who to save and was only to be used in the most dire of straits like now. And there he was, ready to push it, ready to wipe out all life on and around Gallifrey.

"I told you," Clara breathed, "He hasn't done it yet!"

"Go away now, all of you," the War Doctor called, not even taking his gaze off the button, "This is for me."

"You stupid old Doctor," the 9th Mac shook her head fondly as they approached, "You think you'd ever let yourself alone at a time like this? You hardly listen to me half the time, I doubt you'd even listen to yourself."

"These events should be time locked," the 10th Doctor glanced around, "We shouldn't even be here."

"So something let us through," the 11th reasoned.

The Macs glanced to the side, to a large crate when the saw the War Doctor's gaze flicker to it, "Go back," the man pleaded, returning his attention to the button, "Go back to your lives. Go back to your Chosens, take them away from here and go be the Doctor that I could never be. Make it worthwhile," he reached out to put his hand on the button.

"All those years," the 10th Doctor murmured, looking at the War Doctor with a frown, "Burying you in my memory."

"Pretending you didn't exist," the 11th breathed, "Keeping you a secret, even from my Chosen."

"Or trying to," the 7th Mac countered, she and the 9th Mac standing across from the War Doctor while the other Doctors stood on either side of him.

"Pretending you weren't the Doctor," the 10th swallowed, "When you were the Doctor more than anybody else."

"You were the Doctor on the day it wasn't possible to get it right," the 11th looked at him.

"But this time..." the 10th took a breath and put his hand on the button too.

"You don't have to do it alone," the 11th agreed, resting his on top of the others'.

"Thank you," the War Doctor breathed, tears in his eyes.

"Mackenzie?" the 10th looked at her the same time the 11th asked, "Kenzie?"

But both Macs, with vastly different expressions, shook their heads, "Don't you DARE ask me to be a part of this," the 7th nearly hissed, tears in her eyes, her jaw clenched, disgusted at the thought that they could even think to ask her to have a hand in murdering her own family.

The 9th Mac just had a sad expression on her face, tears in her eyes as she wrung her hands, "I can't do it," she whispered, "I'm not strong enough. My…my family's down there."

"I'm sorry," all three Doctors murmured, recalling that, the 10th and 11th wincing as though they should not have asked.

"What we do today is not out of fear or hatred," the 10th began, "It is done because there is no other way."

The 9th Mac closed her eyes and stepped away, not able to look, not wanting to watch it happen. She had accepted that it HAD to happen, but she couldn't bear to see it.

"And it is done in the name of the many lives we are failing to save," the 11th finished with a look at the 7th Mac who turned and stormed off across the room from her future self, both women on opposite ends. He bowed his head, and shook it, catching sight of Clara in the corner of his eye, the girl on the verge of tears as she looked between the three men and then to the two other upset women, "What? What is it, what?"

"Nothing," Clara sniffled.

"No. It's something. Tell me!"

"Doctor," the 9th Mac shook her head, and moved over to Clara, putting an arm around her, "What's wrong sweetie?"

"It's just…" Clara tried to blink back her tears, glancing at the Doctors, "You told me you wiped out your own people. How…how Mackenzie's family were…" she swallowed hard, not wanting to bring it up with the women right there, "I just... I never pictured you doing it, that's all."

The room suddenly started to darken, a sort of projection forming around them of the planet, of the Daleks firing, the people running, the blasts going off all around them.

"What's happening?"

"The Moment is projecting the present," the 7th Mac swallowed, "I saw this," she murmured, "Just as the shuttle was taking off, it flew past…this…exactly this…" she took a breath, watching as families were torn apart and knowing, somewhere out there, her shuttle had just taken off with her screaming at the controls and tearing out wires to try and stop the autopilot.

"These are the people you're going to burn?" Clara gasped.

"There isn't anything we can do," the 10th Doctor said helplessly.

"He's right," the 11th swallowed hard, "There isn't another way, there never was. Either I destroy my own people or let the universe burn."

Clara looked at the Macs, one with her head bowed, not wanting to watch, not wanting to relive what she'd come to terms with, the other looking half livid that she couldn't interfere and half confused at what was being said about the Universe being at stake, "Look at you... the three of you. The warrior. The hero. And you," she turned to the 11th Doctor.

"And what am I?" the 11th shrugged.

"Have you really forgotten?"

"Yes. Maybe, yes."

"We've got enough warriors, any old idiot can be hero."

"Then what do I do?"

Clara smiled, "What I'd guess Mackenzie wanted you to do from the start," she offered, "Be a doctor! She told me the name you chose was a promise. What was the promise?"

"To never be cruel or cowardly," the 9th Mac murmured, the group watching as there was a lull in the battle, the families taking a chance to rush to each other again.

"And to never give up, never give in," the 7th Mac finished, "And you're failing, you always failed at that…DON'T fail now."

The 10th Doctor ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up, when he caught sight of his future self's thoughtful expression as he stared at his future Mac, "You're not actually suggesting that we change our own personal history?"

"We change history all the time," the 11th murmured, "I'm suggesting something far worse."

"What, exactly?" the War Doctor frowned.

The 11th Doctor kept his gaze on his Mac though, "Trust me?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Bet your life?"

"Always," she smiled, seeming to see something in him the others weren't.

He grinned, kissed her quickly, before he spun around with a wide smile, his arm around her shoulders, "Gentleman, I have had 400 years to think about this. I've changed my mind," he flicked the sonic at the Moment, closing it up.

"There's still a billion billion Daleks up there, attacking!" the War doctor cried.

"Yeah, there is, there is."

"But there's something those billion billion Daleks don't know," the 10th Doctor slowly started to realize something as his Mac moved to stand beside her future self and ask her something, his Mac…and a future Mac…TWO Macs…

"Cos if they did, they'd probably send for reinforcements," the 11th nodded, pointing at his last incarnation, seeing him grasping it.

"What?" Clara asked, "What don't they know?"

"This time, there's THREE of us."

"Three TARDISes," the 9th Mac corrected since there were only 2 of her.

"Oh!" the War Doctor's eyes widened, "Oh! Oh, yes, that is good! That is brilliant!"

"Oh, oh, oh!" the 10th cheered, "I'm getting that too, that is brilliant!" he jumped up and ran to his Mac, hugging her tightly, delighting in how she hugged him back this time, working it out too, working out exactly what they could do to not only maintain the timelines…but SAVE Gallifrey in the process!

"I've been thinking about it for centuries!" the 11th beamed, "Even more since we found Kenzie! Oh you're always a well of inspiration dear," he beamed at her.

"She didn't just show me any old future," the War Doctor laughed, tears of joy in his eyes, "She showed me exactly the future I needed to see!"

The 9th Mac blinked at that and looked at the War Doctor, "Who? Who showed you what?"

"Oh, Melody Pond, I could kiss you!"

The 9th Mac and 11th Doctor stared at him, "Did…did you say Melody Pond?" Mac breathed.

"Oh no, um," the War Doctor chuckled sheepishly, "The um…interface…"

"A woman with curly space hair?" the 11th Doctor asked urgently.

"Yes…how did you know?" the War Doctor stared at them.

"It took the form of our daughter?" the 9th Mac breathed, though she couldn't help but think it was fitting, River was always the one who knew, perhaps there was something about the interface, some part of the 'consciousness' that had latched onto the one hidden in the Library. Either way it made her hearts swell to know that, in some way, their daughter had been able to help save their planet as well, had helped save her father from that guilt of what he'd done, save her mother from the pain of that loss.

The past her spun at that, "Our what?!"

"Did you say daughter!?" the 10th gaped, "OUR daughter as in…as in…us?" he gestured between him and Mac.

"How?"

The 9th Mac and 11th Doctor glanced at each other a moment before smiling, "Spoilers," they said as one, laughing as though they'd shared a joke.

But the joke was NOT lost on the past pair as the glanced at each other, not sure if they were saying 'Spoilers' as in a literal spoiler that they couldn't say or as a hint that…that maybe River Song was…and there WAS that comparison of River-Song and Pond-Melody…but…it couldn't be…could it?

"So what are we doing?" Clara cut in, knowing how touch a subject River Song was for her Time Lords, they'd told her about it, after the time tunnel, about River and her other aliases, how she'd come to be, and while she was so touched they'd shared that with her, she had seen how much it pained them to do it, "What's the plan?"

"The Dalek fleets are surrounding Gallifrey," the War Doctor picked up, knowing that, no matter how badly he wanted to know how he and Mac had a daughter when she couldn't have children, he NEEDED to focus on this. And besides, he'd live it one day, "Firing on it constantly."

"Yes, um," the 7th Mac shook her head, trying to gather her thoughts, "We built the sky trenches, we know they'll hold out to the bitter end…but if the planet just disappeared, what then?"

"Tiny bit of an ask?" Clara frowned.

"The Daleks would be firing on each other," the 10th Doctor explained, "They'd destroy themselves in their own crossfire!"

"Gallifrey would disappear," the 9th Mac breathed, "It would look like it was destroyed by the Daleks, all the Daleks there would destroy each other, and the universe would be none the wiser."

"But where would Gallifrey be?" Clara frowned.

"Frozen!" the 10th Doctor started to grin, the plan looking more and more solid, "Frozen in an instant of time, safe and hidden away."

"Exactly!" the 11th pointed at him.

The War Doctor chuckled, "Like a _painting_."

"Well then, come on!" Clara rushed back to the TARDISes, "No time to waste!"

~8~

The 9th Mac was hunched over at the monitor of the TARDIS, the 11th Doctor with her, trying to tap into the transmissions from Gallifrey. Whatever it was that had allowed the War Doctor to come see them, that had allowed the two other TARDISes to land and speak to him only moments before he used the Moment had helped them once again in allowing them to come BACK to Gallifrey while it was still drifting in space, even while in the middle of the final siege of it. They were there, right now, three TARDISes hovering above the planet. Her 7th self was with the 10th Doctor, but Clara had volunteered to go with the War Doctor for now, not wanting the man to be alone in this while his future selves had someone. She was so focused on trying to tap into the transmissions she failed to see the gleeful smile on the Doctor's face as he typed some other command into the console from the other side, his eyes on her and the rotor, just beaming despite the seriousness of what they were about to do.

Had she looked, she would have known instantly it had little to do with the fact they were about to SAVE the planet and not destroy it.

She frowned in concentration, managing to send a new message that the War Doctor had requested, 'Gallifrey Stands' and was just starting to get a staticy picture coming through on the monitor of what looked like the war rooms of Gallifrey.

"…ould he do that?" one of the military officials was saying, the audio kicking in, "What's the mad fool talking about now?"

"Hello!" the Doctor rushed over the second she looked up to alert him to the fact that she'd patched them in, knowing a hologram of himself and Mac would appear in the War Rooms, "Hello, Gallifrey High Command, this is the Doctor speaking with my Chosen, Mackenzie!"

"Hello," she laughed at their utterly terrified looks, knowing they'd realized it was a FUTURE Doctor talking to them.

Just across from them they could see another hologram flicker on of the 10th Doctor and 7th Mac's faces, "Hello!" the 10th greeted, "Also the Doctor. And Mackenzie, though um, not my Chosen yet…um, just my wife," he smiled at the 7th Mac.

That Mac just rolled her eyes, "Are you reading us?" she focused on the mission at hand.

But before the generals could answer, another holographic window popped up with the War Doctor and Clara, "Also the Doctor standing ready with Miss Clara Oswald."

"Oh my god they're Time Lords!" Clara gaped, "What are you wearing?"

The Doctors chuckled at that, their laughter growing bigger as the general in charge just stared and said, "Dear God, three of them! All my worst nightmares at once!"

"General, we have a plan," the 10th Doctor spoke.

"We should point out, at this moment, it is a fairly terrible plan," the 11th added.

"And almost certainly won't work…"

Both Doctors were quickly quieted when their Macs both made the 'stop talking' gesture and turned to the Genera, "We're going to fly three TARDISes into the lower atmosphere," the 9th Mac explained, the women taking over for a moment.

"If we position them at equidistant intervals around the planet it should work," the 7th Mac added.

"We're just about ready to do it," the War Doctor warned as the TARDISes moved into position.

"Ready to do what?" the General called.

The 11th Doctor smiled softly, "We're going to freeze Gallifrey."

"I'm sorry, what?!"  
"Using our TARDISes," the 10th nodded, "We're going to freeze Gallifrey in a single moment in time."

"You know, like those Stasis Cubes?" the War Doctor supplied, "A single moment in time held in a parallel pocket universe."

"But on to the whole planet," the 7th Mac nodded.

"And save everyone on it," the 9th smiled, feeling her hearts beating rapidly at the thought that they could save her family and so many others. She felt so badly for the Doctor, that his family wouldn't be saved, but they had died so early in the war, and this…what they were doing, how they were going to make it appear the planet was destroyed for history's sake…it had to be in the final moments of it.

"What?" the general scoffed, "Even if that were possible, which it isn't, why would you do such a thing?"

"Because the alternative is burning," the 11th Doctor swallowed hard.

"And I've seen that," the 10th murmured, absently reaching out to take the 7th Mac's hand, the woman allowing it and even squeezing his hand back.

"And I _never_ want to see it again," the 11th finished, "I don't want to force my Chosen to suffer through that again."

The 9th Mac smiled softly at him for that, for his concern, before she leaned in to kiss his cheek.

"We'd be lost in another universe," the General frowned, "Frozen in a single moment. We'd have nothing."

"Hope," the 9th Mac murmured, "You'd have hope."

"Something you don't exactly have in spades right now do you?" the 7th Mac agreed.

"It's delusional!" the General cried, "The calculations alone would take...hundreds of years."

"Oh, hundreds and hundreds," the 11th Doctor nodded.

"But don't worry," the 10th grinned, "I started a very long time ago!"

They could see Clara laughing and grinning widely when almost a dozen other holographic windows opened up and every single previous Doctor appeared in them, the sensors picking up all of them flying in to help them from different points in time.

"You might say, I've been doing this all my lives!" the 11th laughed.

"I didn't know when I was well off!" the General seemed like he was caught in a nightmare at that, "All 12 of them!"

The 9th Mac frowned when she spotted it, another holographic window appearing, a 13th Doctor, and turned to the 11th in shock, but his head was bowed as he put in the commands the others were all working on, it seemed like only she had seen the man and his eyebrows before the War room was hit with a blast and jolted about so much that she lost sight of the other windows but knew they were still there. How was that possible though!? That there was a 13th Doctor there given the regeneration the current one was on?

She had little time to think on it though when the soldier beside the General cried out, "Sir! The Daleks know that something is happening. They're increasing their fire power!"

"Do it, Doctor," the General ordered, "Just do it. Do it!"

The three Doctors looked at each other, the monitor split in 4 sections, one for each of the other's faces, one for the planet, and the last for the war room. The 11th Doctor nodded, "Ok, gentleman...we're ready," he took the 9th Mac's hand, "Geronimo!" he turned and threw up a switch.

The 10th Doctor mirrored his actions, but with a shout of, "Allons-y!"

They could hear Clara laughing as the War Doctor grumbled, but joined in, "Oh, for God's sake! Gallifrey stands!"

And so they stood and watched as the TARDISes created a field around the planet, growing larger and brighter and expanding until it finally exploded, encompassing them all in a blinding white light as the Dalek ships around them exploded…

~8~

The Time Lords and Clara had regrouped in the National Gallery, the Under Gallery more specifically, where the portrait of Gallifrey Falls had been placed back in what they assumed was its natural place in the hidden section of the museum. They were all sipping tea, the three TARDISes set up along the side of the room. After they'd done whatever it was they'd done the other Doctors had disappeared, likely back to their original timelines, leaving the three Doctors and 2 Mackenzies with Clara to return.

"I don't suppose we'll ever know if we actually succeeded," the War Doctor remarked as they all stood and sat, looking at the painting, dropping lump of sugar into his tea, "But at worst, we failed doing the right thing, as opposed to succeeding in doing the wrong."

"Life and soul, you are," Clara remarked.

The 7th Mac smiled at her though it was a sad one, "I like you Clara."

"Me too," the 9th Mac agreed.

Clara watched as the 10th Doctor put an arm around the 7th Mac tentatively and the man seemed nearly surprised when she leaned into him quickly, when she wound an arm around his waist as well, and rested her head on his shoulders. There were tears in her eyes though that seemed to be confusing the 10th Doctor as they were sad tears and not the happy ones that should have come with saving the planet. She supposed it could be because, if they didn't know if they succeeded, they still didn't know if her family was alive.

But…looking at the 9th Mac, the 11th Doctor took her hand and squeezed it and she gave him such an apologetic look, a sorrowful and guilty one, that she was almost confused when that Mac didn't pull her hand away, she couldn't think of a reason why both women seemed so sad and sorry when their planet could very well be safe.

"What is it actually called?" the 10th Doctor asked, trying to distract them all, and Clara could tell both men were quite concerned with how their Macs were acting. From what she'd seen it wasn't like either of them.

"Well, there's some debate," the 11th sighed, she knew THAT sound had come from him wanting to discuss with Mac what was wrong and his opportunity being taken, "Either _No More_ or _Gallifrey Falls_."

"Not very encouraging," the War Doctor remarked.

"What I want to know is how it got here," the 9th Mac murmured.

"And why were we informed it was here," the 7th agreed, still quite putout that UNIT hadn't told her art about HER planet existed.

"No idea," the 11th Doctor shrugged.

"There's always something we don't know, isn't there?" the 10th smiled.

"One should certainly hope so," the War Doctor nodded, before pushing himself up, "Well, gentlemen, ladies, "It has been an honor," he shook the 10th Doctor's hand, "And a privilege," and the 11th.

"Likewise," the 10th nodded.

"Doctor," the 11th winked.

"And Mackenzie," the War Doctor looked between them, before switching to Gallifreyan, "I am so blessed to have been able to see you again Naery," he gave them a deep smile, "And to know that one day, we shall be Chosens and married," he chuckled, "It will give me hope till I can become the men they are," he gave a soft nod to the other Doctors, stepping up to hug both women at once, but his smile grew sad as he pulled away and looked at them, his hands taking one of their own, "I won't remember this will I?"

"No," the 9th Mac offered him a sorry smile.

"The three of you being here," the 7th added, "What the Moment's interface allowed…it threw the timelines out of sync, it would be impossible for you or even my Doctor and I to retain it."

"Ah, well," he let out a sad breath, before turning to say goodbye to one more person, "If I grow to be half the man that you are, Clara Oswald, I shall be happy indeed."

"That's right," Clara laughed, "Aim high!" she stood and gave him a hug, kissing his cheek.

The War Doctor took a deep breath and turned to head to his TARDIS, only to pause and look at the Time Lords once more, "I won't remember that I tried to save Gallifrey, rather than burn it," he mused, "I'll have to live with that. But for now, for this moment...I am the Doctor again. Thank you," he smiled at them once more before stepping into his TARDIS and disappearing.

The 10th Doctor sighed as he watched the box fade away, "And we won't remember either," he looked at the 7th Mac as she looked down, "We won't remember that your family's alive," he murmured to her."

"I know," she swallowed hard, her voice shaking.

The 10th Doctor knew that he should talk to her about this about what was wrong, but…they'd forget, the moment they entered the TARDIS and left, it would be a blank to them, they'd likely remember how they'd been looking for a Zygon in Elizabeth's court and the queen was enamored with him, how Mac had said so many comments she'd nearly thought he was an enemy of the crown…he couldn't guess if he'd remember the queen's sudden revelation that the reason Mac was saying all that HAD to be (in her mind) because Mac wanted him for herself. He really didn't know, that had happened so close to when the other him and her had fallen into the portal that he wasn't sure when the timelines would stop. They'd probably end up thinking they'd run for their lives or something. So it would truly be pointless to try and talk now when all of it would be erased, though he hated seeing her so sad.

"So," he looked at the 11th Doctor, just wanting to get off the subject, "You might as well tell me."

"Tell you what?" the 11th frowned.

"Where it is we're going that you don't want to talk about."

The 11th hesitated and looked at the 9th Mac, "He won't remember anyway," she agreed.

He sighed, "We saw Trenzalore..." he told himself, "Where we're buried. We die in battle among millions."

The 10th Doctor was silent a moment, glancing at his Mac questioningly, fully expecting her to have some remark about 'him? In a WAR? Actually fighting instead of running away?' but she was silent. So he cleared his throat and looked back at the future thems, "That's not how it's supposed to be."

"That's how the story ends," the 11th shrugged, "Nothing we can do about it. Trenzalore is where you're going."

"Oh, never say nothing," he gave a small smile, before shaking both their hands, not feeling comfortable kissing or hugging anyone who wasn't HIS Mackenzie, "Anyway...good to know my future is in safe hands," he smiled at Clara, "Keep a tight hold on it, Clara."

"On it," Clara smiled and stood, shaking his hand too.

"I'm glad to know I'm still here," the 7th Mac offered too, looking at her future self, "With you," she glanced at the 11th Doctor and then her Doctor, "Doesn't seem like you'll ever run away from me now, eh?"

He smiled at her, "Never ever," he gave the future thems a nod before heading to their TARDIS, "Trenzalore," he murmured as Mac unlocked the door, "We need a new destination, because...I don't want to go."

The 7th Mac looked back at them sadly before they got into the TARDIS and it too faded out of existence.

"He always says that," the Doctor murmured, turning to look back at the painting.

"Need a moment alone with your painting?" Clara asked, seeing the two growing silent.

"If you'll be alright for a moment?" Mac glanced at her.

"Course I will," Clara smiled, nodding as she headed back to the TARDIS, leaving them to their thoughts.

"What's wrong?" the Doctor asked, glancing at Mac, "I saw that look the two yous had, what is it?"

Mac sighed, "I just can't help thinking, and I'm sure the other me thought it too that…we were SO horrible to you," she looked up at him, "We were so terrible and we blamed you and we hated you for destroying Gallifrey, for…for killing our family…and all that time they might be alive."

"It's not your fault," he tugged her closer, hugging her as he saw tears in her eyes, "Kenzie…NONE of us knew it survived, we ALL thought I'd actually destroyed it, that I'd burned it. I really did think I killed them all, I can't blame you for thinking it too."

"I should have known though," she murmured, "That it wouldn't have ever happened, that something else had to have happened because YOU…" she looked up at him, "You're the Doctor and you wouldn't have EVER destroyed our planet, all those children. I should have known or thought that there was something else going on."

"I wasn't the Doctor during the war though," he reminded her, "That Doctor fought and killed and broke the promise, that man wasn't a Doctor, or I didn't think he was. Kenzie," he lifted her chin a bit more, stroking her cheek, "I really don't blame you. I forgave you for all of that after we dealt with Rassilon, just like you forgave me. This…changes nothing."

"The other me will forget," she whispered, "She'll forget all of this and she'll still blame you though, till Rassilon."

"And I'll still blame me too," he agreed, "It really won't change the past, and that's it. It's in the past. The future though…THAT we can change."

She smiled, "You don't…hate me for being so cross with you, now that you know you didn't destroy Gallifrey?"

"I could never hate you Kenzie," he promised her, "I rather think I love you," he smiled, tapping her nose.

"I love you too," she smiled.

"Good," he leaned in to kiss her, his lips just barely brushing hers when the door to the TARDIS opened again.

"Oh, sorry!" Clara called, smiling sheepishly at having interrupted them, "I just remembered, there was an old man looking for you when I went to make the tea. I think it was the curator. Carry on," she winked and disappeared inside the box again.

"I could be a curator," the Doctor mused, thinking about that.

"Appears I AM a curator," Mac remarked, recalling Elizabeth's letter, "You can be my assistant curator."

"Ooh I'd be great at curating," he started to nod, imaging it, "I'd be...the great curator. I could retire and do that. I could retire and be the curator of this place with you!"

"You know, I really think you might," a voice said from behind them. They turned slowly to see a man who looked a great deal like the Doctor's fourth incarnation, but as an old man, standing there with a cane, grinning at them, "The boss sent me down," he winked at Mac.

"I never forget a face," the Doctor eyed him.

"I know you don't," the curator nodded, "And in years to come, you might find yourself revisiting a few but just...the old favorites, eh?" he made his way over to them, "You were curious about this painting, I think. I acquired it in remarkable circumstances. What do you make of the title?"

"Which one?" Mac smiled at that, "_No More__, or the __Gallifrey Falls__ one_?"

"Oh, you see, that's where everybody's wrong. It's all one title. _Gallifrey Falls No More_. Now, what would you think that means, eh?"

"That Gallifrey didn't fall!" the Doctor blinked, "It worked. It's still out there."

"I'm only a humble curator," the man gave them a small smile, "I'm sure I wouldn't know."

"Do you know where it is?" Mac asked him.

But he sighed, "Where is it indeed? Lost perhaps."

"Oh dear," Mac frowned at that, thinking of all the places it could possibly be in the universe…and that was quite a few.

"Things do get lost, you know," the man shrugged, "But um," he smiled at her, "They always have a way of finding a way home, don't they?" he saw the Doctor smile and take Mac's hand, the two smiling at each other at the hidden meaning in his words, they'd found each other too, "Now you must excuse me. Oh...you have a lot to do."

"Do we?" the Doctor looked back at him, "Is that what we're supposed to do now? Go looking for Gallifrey?"

"Oh, it's entirely up to you. Your choice. I can only tell you what I would do, if I were you...oh...if I were you..." he laughed, "Perhaps I WAS you, of course. Or perhaps... you are me."

"Yeah!"

"Congratulations," he shook the Doctor's hand.

"Thank you very much."

"Or perhaps it doesn't matter either way. Who knows? Who...knows?" he tapped the side of his nose, "As for you my dear," he took Mac's hand and kissed it, "Do enjoy your journey with your new companion," he winked at her before turning to walk away.

"Oh dear, dear, dear," Mac let out a breath, her smile starting to fall, "We were within range of Gallifrey!"

"Yes?" the Doctor started to smile.

"We were so focused on saving the planet I completely forgot to designate myself as a pilot!" she looked at him before letting out a breath, "I suppose, if we should find Gallifrey again…maybe then I could…" she trailed off, seeing him starting to chuckle, "What? What's so funny?"

He tapped her nose, "You are," he told her, "You know, I'm quite a good multi-tasker," he began, "I DID have a moment to spare when we reached the planet, while you were hacking into the transmissions to the war room…"

"Theta…" she looked at him, "Are you saying…"

"I designated you as a pilot," he nodded, "You're officially a pilot now."

"So that means Clara…"

"Is your official companion," he beamed, hugging her tightly, "Congratulations to you too."

"Oh," she laughed at that, never having thought she'd get this change, "Oh my…" she beamed at him in return, "Thank you Theta," she hugged him again.

"It was my pleasure Naery," he murmured, pressing a kiss to her hair, "Now, I believe a certain Oswald has some news to receive yes?"

Mac just laughed and took his hand, hurrying with him back to the TARDIS, to her now-official companion.

~8~

"_Clara sometimes asks Kenzie and I if we dream. 'Course I dream of Kenzie,' I tell her, it makes Kenzie smile widely to hear that though Clara rolls her eyes like that wasn't what she meant. 'Everybody dreams,' I amend. 'But what do you dream about?' she'll ask. 'Adventure,' Kenzie will say, 'Journeys. Life. I suppose what everyone dreams of, where they want to go, where they're going.' She always laughs at that. 'But you're not going anywhere, you're just wandering about.' That's not true. Not anymore. Kenzie and I have a new destination. Our journey is the same as yours, the same as anyone's. It's taken me so many years, so many lifetimes, but at last I know where I'm going, where I get to go with my Chosen, where we've both always been going. Home...the long way round._"

A/N: My apologies -sigh- My entire fault this was late, I stayed up way too late last night, slept through my alarm and was nearly late for work so I was just scrambling. I just got home about 15 minutes ago and I'm uploading the chapters now, sorry!

As for this chapter...aww the interface was River :') I was SO tempted to have her visible in the story but I wanted that surprise moment to be at the end :) I can't believe the story will be over in only 2 days! O.O So soon!

Some notes on reviews...

The interface was River :)

Mac was the one to TARDIS proof it yup, so they sort of know what's coming for the Doctors trying to break in :)

I'm glad you like the 'dear' thing, that'll sort of be her thing for this incarnation. And I'm really glad you felt that seeing the cover, I wanted that to sort of be a discomfort Mac feels being around humans so much :) It'll be awkward now, but adorable with 12 :)

I've actually got a tentative spin-off in mind for TL7 that would give us more background on her and what she's doing while the Doctor's series is progressing. But I can't say what it is till after TL7's been posted just to see if anyone's interested ;)

The Doctor married his wife on Gallifrey, as for when, we'll have to wait and see when the next story starts :)


	22. Time of the Doctor - Part 1

Time of the Doctor - Part 1

"_Once, there was a planet, much like any other...and unimportant. This planet sent the universe a message. A bell tolling among the stars, ringing out to all the dark corners of creation. And everybody came to see. Although no one understood the message, everyone who heard it found themselves afraid. Except one man and one woman. The ones who stayed for Christmas._"

~8~

Mac sat on the side seat of the console controls as she waited. The Doctor had teleported into a space ship, one of MANY that had gathered over a particular planet. There was this…signal, beeping out from the planet that they had actually been struggling to translate, which was odd for the ship. But whatever it was it had attracted an enormous amount of aliens, both friend and foe, to the planet. They were floating around on invisible, trying to see if maybe one of the others might know what was going on, but it was slow going. The Doctor had just teleported onto one of the ships moments ago, courtesy of one of the Cyber-heads they'd acquired helping them breach their defenses. They'd brought the head, the Doctor had taken to calling it 'Handles,' with them as a majority of their enemies had a default where their teleports were open to other 'enemies of the Doctor.' Having Handles around meant that they could enter an enemy ship if needed. The Doctor had told the head to send him onto one of the ships so that he could snoop around, see if there was someone that might have a better idea of what was going on.

She knew well enough how the Doctor's luck went to know that he'd probably need someone there to teleport him back from the middle of an enemy ship and had remained behind.

And, now that she saw a blinking light on the console, the Doctor activating the distress call with his sonic, she knew her suspicions were correct and he needed an out, NOW. She didn't even get up, just turned and pressed a button on the side control next to her and the Doctor appeared before her, wearing a cloak with the hood brushed back and swinging a Dalek laser arm before him.

"Have fun?" she asked, crossing her arms, not very pleased that he'd just rushed off like that.

He peeked an eye open to see he was back on the TARDIS and sighed, taking his cloak off, "Every ship I go on, they just shoot at me!"

"I told you to specify the ship you wanted to teleport to," she stood, moving to help him as he got the cloak's clasp stuck, "Telling Handles to put you on a ship, his defaults would send you to an enemy ship," she smiled as he gave her a peck, allowing her to take the cloak, "Which ship was it this time?"

"Dalek ship," he huffed, before pointing at Handles, the poor head mounted to the console, warningly, "Don't put me on a Dalek ship, when I'm holding a broken bit of Dalek!" he moved to smack Handles with the laser arm only for it to bounce off and strike himself in the head, "Ow!"

"Best give me that," Mac took the laser arm as well, moving to set it and the cloak on the chair she'd been on before moving back to the Doctor, "Let me see," she took his head in her hands and examined his forehead, "There's just a bump so far, bit red," she reached out to gently touch it, "Does it hurt? Is this ok? Should I get you some ice?"

He smiled and took her hand off his head, kissing her fingers, "I'm fine dear," he told her, she'd slowly been getting used to her new body, the excitement of the last few trips leaving her a bit wanting to settle, but they both had a better idea of what she was like now. She was such a mother hen, always worrying and fretting, going mad when someone was hurt. She was also a bit more nervous than before, came with the worrying he supposed.

"You did not indicate a preference," Handles spoke, his voice monotone and naturally robotic, seeming to agree with what Mac had just said.

"Use your head!" he huffed as Mac laughed and pressed a kiss to his bump before she moved over to a monitor, "It's not like you've got a lot of alternatives."

"I just don't understand why they're all here," Mac sighed, looking at the monitor, it was full of so many different ships whizzing about just over the planet, "Daleks, Sontarans, Terileptils, Slitheen…and so many more that the TARDIS is even having trouble keeping up."

"And they're not even fighting," the Doctor agreed, moving to her side, sliding a hand around her waist, a smile making its way onto his face as she stepped closer to him. When it was just them, he adored those moments, less people judging them, Mac was more comfortable when it was just her and him, "They're just parked. Why?"

"The message was received throughout the universe," Handles stated.

"We know, dear," Mac agreed, "But the TARDIS is having trouble translating it. It's just a beeping and nearly every language utilizes things like that at some point. She's still running a scan and filter on trying to work out what language and people it's from."

"And if no one knows what it means, why is everyone here?" the Doctor mumbled.

"You're here," Handles stated.

"Well, you know, I'm OCD," the Doctor rolled his eyes, "What's their excuse? What does this message mean?"

"Oh dear," Mac sighed as the phone began to ring, her moving over to the doors to get it. Somewhere between the TARDIS getting caught in the salvage ship and the time tunnel the phone lines had gotten all mixed up.

"And remind us to patch the telephone back through the console unit," the Doctor added to Handles, "This is getting ridiculous."

"Oh it's not so bad," Mac smiled, opening the doors to reach out to the instruction panel.

"Attention!" Handles cried, "Information available."

"Ok?" the Doctor frowned as Mac paused and looked back.

"You must patch the telephone device back through the console unit."

"No, no. No, no, no, no. No, not now! Remind me later."

"When?"

"I don't know, just later, just pick a time."

"When?"

"I don't know, just any old time. When you think I've forgotten."

"When?"

"Just give him a date Doctor," Mac shook her head, turning to try and get the phone without falling out of the box.

"Just pick a random number, express that number as a quantity of minutes, and when that time has elapsed, remind me to patch the telephone back through the console unit," the Doctor huffed at Handles.

"Affirmative," the robot replied.

"Hello?" Mac greeted as she got the phone, tugging it into the console room again, "Clara?"

"Emergency!" Clara shouted, making Mac freeze.

"What's wrong? What happened? Are you ok? Do you need us to come over? What's going on? Clara…"

"Can the Doctor pretend to be my boyfriend?" Clara cut in.

"What?" Mac blinked.

"I know, I'm sorry, it's a terrible question, but I am DESPERATE!" Clara cried.

"Sorry…what?" Mac shook her head, really not understanding the context of all this.

"It wouldn't be my actual boyfriend," Clara continued, "Look I need a boyfriend really quickly cos it's Christmas. I'm cooking Christmas dinner and my family's coming and they're always so judgey and…so…I may have...accidentally invented a boyfriend. So now I need a pretend one, an imaginary one. And I said he'd be coming to Christmas dinner. And I don't know any decent, non-creepy blokes."

"Um…I think this is something you'd have to talk to the Doctor about," she headed over for him.

"Yeah, I know, but he's YOUR husband and you're MY pilot and I wanted to ask you first."

Mac smiled at her consideration, "It's ok with me Clara," she told her, her smile a little more sad as a thought filtered in that Clara was closer in age (appearance wise) than she was to the Doctor, it would be more believable for him to play her boyfriend than to say he was HER husband, and she knew Clara truly had to be very desperate to resort to this, "Let me just give you to the Doctor and see if he's ok with it. I've got another ship to check out anyway."

"Oi, but…" the Doctor frowned.

But she shook her head, handing him the phone, "Clara needs to talk to you, so you two talk and I'LL go see the next ship."

He sighed, "Fine, but bring Handles with you."

Mac smiled and nodded, picking Handles up out of his post and pulling a lever before she headed to the doors. She cautiously pulled a mirror out of her pocket and used it to help her peek outside before she stepped out. The hallway was dark with a light down the middle of it so she walked along it, keeping quiet and silent till she reached a room at the end. She stepped through, the door sliding behind her…and stopped when she saw a row of Cybermen in stasis chambers before her…Cybermen that were starting to wake up from the sound of the door moving.

"Oh dear," she breathed, before turning and running back the way she'd come, hearing their shouts of alerts and intruder behind her. She quickly used Handles to block a few blasts, knowing that the armor of a Cyberman would be thicker against its own fire than anything else there.

She dashed into the TARDIS, shutting the door behind her to see the Doctor already running around the console, trying to pilot them away, shouting about how they were being shot at by Cybermen before he huffed and pulled a lever, sending them off to visit Clara.

~8~

Mac was sitting in her side seat once more, her head bowed, covering her eyes as the Doctor walked around the console…stark naked. She, on the other hand, was still in her dress, trying her very best not to look. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy the view, she and the Doctor were Chosens (and apparently married as well) but there was just something about it not being within the confines of their bedroom that made her uneasy about seeing him like that. The console room was meant for the clothed and yet he was just wandering about, whistling a merry tune, and grinning like there was absolutely nothing wrong with being starkers.

"Oh thank god you're here," she looked over, seeing Clara enter, "I so need your..." she stopped short, staring at the Doctor for only a second before her hand flew up to cover her eyes.

"Clara!" the Doctor threw up his arms to greet her.

"No, stop, stop, don't move, don't do anything!" she spun around, able to hear him moving closer.

"Why, what is it?" he frowned and spun to Mac, seeing she was looking up at the Gallifreyan symbols above the rotor instead of at him, "What's wrong?"

"You're naked dear," Mac reminded him.

"Yes…" he said slowly, as if he wouldn't realize that fact, "I am naked."

"Doctor, _why_ are you naked?" Clara groaned in complete horror at having seen anything like that. It was just so wrong to her, he was Mac's husband and Chosen (she vaguely remembered a tiny bit about what that meant from when she'd been a Time Lady on Gallifrey in stopping the First Doctor taking the wrong TARDIS).

"Because we're going to church," he said simply.

"Yes, but NOT NOW," Mac got up and headed over to the console, avoiding his glance, "When the time comes to go, then fine, by all means. But right now we're about to go see Clara's family and you cannot go like that,' she pulled a lever, creating a whooshing noise as the Doctor pouted, seeing himself wearing clothes again.

"Spoilsport," he pouted.

"It's ok Clara," Mac called, "You can turn round now."

Clara hesitated a moment before glancing back, "Oh, that was quick."

"Hologram clothes," the Doctor moved over to the console and fiddled with a few controls, "Projected directly onto your visual cortex."

"Still naked underneath?" Clara frowned at that.

"Everybody's naked underneath."

Clara grimaced, "Eugh, don't say things like that."

"Especially not on Christmas," Mac agreed.

Clara sighed but looked at them, "Come on, time to meet my family," she took them by the hands and tugged them out of the TARDIS, leading them across a small courtyard and to a building that was either the Powell Estates that Rose Tyler had lived in…or something very close. She brought them up a few flights and to the small flat she had for herself, throwing the door open and leading them in to where two women, one middle aged and another elderly, were sitting with another middle aged man, "Hello," she greeted, "So, er, here he is!"

"Hello, the Oswalds," the Doctor smiled, "Hello!" he reached out to shake their hands, "Merry Christmas. Hello, hello!" he gave Clara's grandmother two Gallic air kisses, "Hello, handsome," he smiled as the room fell into silence, "Anyone for Twister?"

Mac frowned and looked at the Oswalds, all staring at the Doctor a moment before averting their gaze and started to wring her hands, guessing what had happened. Apparently the visual cortex projection had only latched onto those in the TARDIS at the time and hadn't carried over to those outside it.

Right now the Doctor was standing before the three humans in his birthday suit.

"So..." Clara began, "This is the Doctor. My…um, boyfriend," she looked at Mac apologetically.

"And I'm…" Mac sighed, "His…mum?" she offered. It was literally the ONLY excuse they could come up with for why an older woman was walking about with a younger man like him. She was too old to be a sibling, could have been a cousin but there would be no reason for her to tag along for this. As much as she truly hated when people thought she was his mother upon sight, she loathed having to say she was even more.

The Doctor reached out behind her and placed a comforting hand on her back, knowing that it really did kill her and made her quite uncomfortable to say things like that about them. She was his wife and his Chosen partner and others put such irritating labels to them just based on physical appearance. It was disgusting to him, but he forced himself to remember, Humans didn't age or regenerate like Time Lords did, a regular human, not knowing who or what he or Mac were, wouldn't understand.

"Isn't anyone going to say hello?" Clara started to frown, not sure why her family was trying not to look at the Doctor.

Her grandmother, though, did giggle at him, "Hello."

"Pardon us a mo," Mac smiled apologetically, reaching out to tug Clara off to the side, the Doctor moving with them, "Clara…the clothing projection only lasts on those in the TARDIS, she can't project it outwards," she whispered.

Clara blinked at her, "You mean, no one except us can see his clothes?"

"Yes," Mac winced, "Sorry."

"You know, I'm starting to think it may be causing tension," the Doctor remarked, making the women shake their heads.

"Are we playing Twister now?" Clara's gran called.

Clara spun around, grinning tensely as Mac hurried to pull the Doctor towards the kitchen, the closest room to them, "Sorry," she offered, "They're…Swedish," before she ran after them, shutting the kitchen door behind her as she joined them to see them at the oven, staring in at the non-cooked turkey.

"Oh dear, Clara, that's not going to cook fast enough like that," Mac remarked, thinking of all the times she'd had to cook for her siblings growing up.

"Well, use an app," Clara ushered the Doctor.

But he frowned, "An app?"

"On your screwdriver, app it."

"Most certainly not, it doesn't do turkey. Nothing does turkey. You'd need a time machine," he stated, and Clara gave him a look, "What?"

"We HAVE a time machine dear," Mac reminded him.

"Oh yes," he smiled sheepishly, "Well then, let's get to it!" he cheered, pulling the turkey out of the oven.

~8~

Mac held the doors to the TARDIS open as the Doctor entered, carrying the turkey for Clara as she followed them closely, "You can't keep using the TARDIS like this," he was complaining as he went.

"Like what?" Clara scoffed.

"Missed birthdays, restaurant bookings. And please just learn how to use iPlayer."

Mac had to laugh, "How is that worse than some of the things YOU've used it for Doctor?"

"I…well…it…shut up," he pouted, hurrying below the console to the panels around the base of the support pole.

"Ooh, vortex cooking?" Clara laughed.

"Yep, exposure to the time winds," he nodded as Mac opened one for him to set the pan with the turkey inside it, "It'll either come up a treat, or just possibly lay some eggs."

"Or turn INTO an egg," Mac mused, closing the panel, "Sorry, we don't really cook like this often."

"Information available," Handles's voice called from above them.

"Ah," the Doctor clapped his hands and hurried up the stairs, Mac after him.

"What's that?" Clara blinked at the Cyberman head when she reached the console with them.

"Oh, just a bit of a Cyberman," the Doctor shrugged, "He'll get us to the church on time."

"I have developed a fault," Handles stated.

"The organics are all gone, but there's still a full set of data banks. Found it at the Maldovar market."

Mac moved over to the controls and set them to the coordinates Handles provided as it spoke, "Planet identified, from analysis of message."

"And what planet is it Handles?" Mac asked typing away as the Doctor moved behind her, his arm sliding around her a moment.

"Processing official designation. Processing…"

The Doctor nearly rolled his eyes at that, "Ok, in your own time, dear. Don't rush!"

"So, why haven't you just gone down there and had a look?" Clara asked, joining them by the monitor to see a planet with all the ships around it.

"There's a shield keeping us from going down," Mac told her, "We tried, but we'd end up frying half of the circuits if we really push the TARDIS and I'd rather have her in one piece since we don't know what's down there yet.

"Gallifrey," Handles spoke, making the Time Lords stiffen.

"What did you say?" the Doctor frowned, walking away from Mac and to the robot head while Mac just stared at it.

"Gallifrey."

"What are you talking about? Gallifrey? What do you mean?"

"Confirmed. Planet designation, Gallifrey."

"No," Mac shook her head, bringing the monitor around and turning Handles to look at it, "See this planet…it's blue, not red. Gallifrey is RED. That is not our home."

"And it can't be Gallifrey," the Doctor added sadly, "Gallifrey is gone."

They had been searching for it, for so long, ever since the curator had given them hope, and even though they knew the Universe was a big place…there was nothing. There was no reference to some random planet suddenly appearing anywhere so far and they just…they were losing hope. They were targeting scars in time and rifts and just anything they could that could lead to a pocket Universe or any place where the planet could have gone. But there was just…nothing.

"Unless...unless you saved it," Clara told them, "You thought you might have."

"Even if it survived, it's gone from this universe," the Doctor shook his head."

"And no matter what, Clara, Gallifrey wouldn't be changed THAT drastically," Mac agreed, looking at the planet, "THAT planet is NOT our planet."

The three of them winced in alarm as a sudden blast, like a cruise ship horn blared from outside, "What's that?!" Clara gasped.

"There," Mac pointed to the monitor as a larger ship appeared. It looked like a U shape, the TARDIS appearing in the middle of the U and facing the middle length of it where there were quite a few open levels about, "It's the Papal Mainframe," she realized.

"It's like a great, big flying church," the Doctor added to Clara, "The first ship to arrive. They are the ones who shielded the planet."

"If they put the shield up then they know how to get through it," Mac nodded.

An image appeared on the monitor, a hailing from the other ship, a woman's face appeared to them, a woman with dark brown hair pulled back and a black streak across her eyes.

"A friend of yours?" Clara guessed as the woman smirked.

"That would be Tasha Lem," Mac explained, "The Mother Superious."

"Ooh look," the Doctor grinned as Tasha crooked a finger at them, beckoning to them, "She's inviting us aboard."

"Why?" Clara frowned, not sure if it was a good thing.

"Because we asked her."

Mac sighed, "You're going to have to swallow this Clara," she handed the girl a pill, "It's a hologram projector. THIS was why the Doctor was naked before, you're not to enter the church with your clothes on."

"So…we have t be naked?" Clara shifted.

"All of us," Mac grimaced, taking her own pill, "But WE will see each other in clothes."

The Doctor grinned and pulled a lever to activate their 'clothes,' he might see Clara in her clothes, but he had no intention of passing up the opportunity of seeing Mac without…and given how her gaze averted looking at him, his own little plan to cancel out the projection of his clothes on her eyes had worked too.

~8~

The trio of time travelers walked down a red carpet set out for them in the Papal Mainframe, heading down a line of men and women and aliens set up on either side of the carpet, down an aisle that led to the woman, Tasha, standing at the end, "I don't feel like I'm wearing anything," Clara whispered to them, hunching a little, very self conscious. Despite the fact that the Time Lords could see her clothes, the fact that others didn't alarmed her.

"I know, relaxing isn't it?" the Doctor smiled.

"Oh Doctor," Mac shook her head, "I really am sorry Clara, you could have stayed in the TARDIS, it would have been just fine."

"No, no," she took a breath, "It's fine, I'm ok. Besides, sort of in the job description as official companion eh?" she tried to joke, "Get into all sorts of odd situations."

"Yeah," Mac laughed a little, smiling at that, Clara was her official companion. She didn't think there had ever been a companion who had screamed so loudly or given their pilot such a tight hug as Clara when she found that fact out.

"So what is this place?"

"The Church of the Papal Mainframe," the Doctor told her quietly, "Security hub of the known universe."

"A security church?"

"Their bishops and clerics are the army," Mac nodded.

"Keeping you safe in this world and the next!" he smiled, when they finally reached Tasha and her lead bishop, "We venerate the exaltation of the Mother Superious," the Doctor bowed, Mac gently tugging Clara's arm with her to give a small curtsey."

"Welcome to the Church of the Papal Mainframe," the bishop stated, "Your nudity is appreciated."

"Hey, babes," Tasha smiled at the Time Lords.

"Hello Tash," Mac laughed.

"Loving the frock!" the Doctor joked.

"Is that a new body?" she looked between them, having only seen his last incarnation and Mac's last as well, "Give us a twirl!"

The Doctor just grinned and took Mac's hand as she was between him and Clara, spinning her around before holding her hand up above him to spin himself too, "How do you like 'em?"

"Nice," Tasha laughed, "Tight."

"And this, is my companion, Clara Oswald," Mac introduced.

"YOUR companion?" Tasha seemed happy about that, "You finally got one then?"

"Yes," Mac smiled, "Took a while, but it all worked out. Clara," she turned to put a gentle hand on Clara's arm, "This is Tasha Lem, the Head of the Church of the Papal Mainframe."

"We have much to discuss," Tasha remarked, "We'll go to my chapel," she added, before straightening to address her congregation, "All honors in place, no sacrifices required," she told them, before turning to step down from the small steps she'd stood on, leading the trio out a side door and into a corridor.

"It was Tasha who shielded the planet," the Doctor explained to Clara, "But you could sneak us down there, couldn't you, Tash?" he smiled at her as they reached a large set of double doors, not too surprise they were so close, the Mother Superious was meant to be as close to the heart of the Church as possible, her rooms connected to the main chapel from a single hall.

"I would have conditions," Tasha stated, though she didn't turn down his request, "I have confidential matters to discuss with the Doctor and Mackenzie," she turned to Clara, "Would you... excuse us?"

"Anything you have to say to us, you can say in front of Clara," the Doctor stated, "Well... quite a lot of it. Probably about half, maybe a smidge... under. Actually, Clara, would you mind waiting out here?"

"I'll wait with her," Mac offered.

"But what I wish to discuss relates to you as well," Tasha frowned.

"And Clara was made my official companion not too long ago," Mac explained, "I don't like leaving her alone when I can help it. I can speak to the Doctor through our telepathic connection and he can tell me all that you have to say to him."

Tasha sighed but nodded, "As you wish," she gave Mac a small bow before turning to head into her chambers with the Doctor, the man moving to give Mac a quick kiss before following.

"You're not…worried?" Clara frowned as the doors shut.

"About what?" Mac glanced at her.

"Boss of the psycho space nuns? And your husband? In a room? Alone?"

Mac smiled, "Well as you pointed out, she's a NUN, she's taken an oath of celibacy. And…the Doctor pushed away a rather flirty ginger girl that literally tried to crawl atop him and kiss him before we were even 'courting,'" she laughed, "He'll be fine."

Clara had to laugh at that as well, only to gasp when she spotted something, like an alien with a large white head, skinny, in a black suit, with eyes and a bit of a nose but no mouth.

"What is it?" Mac looked over, but there was nothing there, "Clara?" she turned back.

Clara blinked, "Nothing," she smiled, "Sorry, what were you saying?"

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Clara said quickly, but then her eyes widened and she pointed behind Mac, "I saw you!" she cried and Mac spun around to see a Silent stepping around a divider towards them, "And then I forgot you. How does that work?"

But the Silent moved behind the divider again and Mac frowned, staring at the space beyond. Slowly heading towards it.

"Confess..." a voice rasped behind them and they spun to see another Silent, a hoard of them making their way towards them, "Confess!"

"Come on!" Mac grabbed Clara's hand and pulled her quickly into Tasha's chambers without knocking, making the two look up from where they were standing by a small box with a comm. in it.

"What's wrong?" the Doctor hurried over to them as the doors shut, "Are you ok?"

"Fine," Clara nodded, though she seemed confused as to why she was panting, "Yeah, fine. Sorry."

"Kenzie?" he turned to her.

"I think there was a Silent in the hall," Mac told him, they hadn't dealt with a Silent in so long that the memory of them had started to fade, the tolerance they'd built up against memory-proof had gotten rusty. It was like she knew she'd seen something, she knew she forgot it, and that was enough to know it had been a Silent. She could still recall them and what they could do, but she couldn't remember seeing one in the hall. But the feeling they left behind remained.

"Right," the Doctor nodded, "We're getting out of here now," he didn't want them anywhere near any Silent ever again, "Tash?"

Tasha nodded and led them over to a booth in the back of her rooms, like two booths set up on either side with a curtain to cover the front and a control panel between them, "This is my personal teleport. I can put you down just outside the town. Find the source of the message and report back to me in one hour," the Doctor got in one, pouting as Mac took the other with Clara, though he understood, teleports could be jarring and it would be best for someone to be there right next to Clara if anything happened, "And on your life, Doctor, you will cause no trouble down there. Do NOT make me request Mackenzie watch you, it is far too tedious a task to ask of anyone."

"Oi," he huffed, "When do I cause trouble?" he closed his curtain…and threw it open, "Don't answer that," before he closed it again. But then Tasha opened it and held out her hand, "What?"

"I'm not an idiot," she gave him a look, "Everyone in this church is trained to see straight through holograms. Give now. You are taking no technology of any kind down there."

"What can I do with a key?" he countered, closing the curtain.

But Tasha threw it open one more time, "You could summon your TARDIS."

"The key isn't a remote," Mac reminded the woman, but Tasha kept her hand out.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, "Fine, if it makes you feel any better, there we are," he pulled the key off the chain around his neck, the necklace that Mac had worn in her last incarnation, and gave it to her.

Tasha smirked and nodded, heading to her controls, "Remember. I want you back in one hour," she warned, before pushing a button and sending them off.

~8~

The small trio landed in a flash of light on a hill in the woods, in the deep snow, the cold instantly seeping into them, "Oh, cold, very cold," Clara hissed, starting to fidget and wrap her arms around herself for warmth.

"It's ok Clara," Mac took her hands and blew on them to help her warm them, "There's heat filter in the hologram clothes, they just need a moment to adjust."

"So," the Doctor clapped, he and Mac not as affected due to their biology as he looked around, "Sweet little town covered in snow," he spotted in the distance a little village, "Half the universe in terror. Why? Why?"

Mac looked around, trying to see if there was anything that could help answer that. She'd been paying attention to what Tasha had said to him in the room while she stayed with Clara. Something about how the message was making people feel fear and dread. There was a settlement that she classified as a Level 2 colony, essentially a farm to most other aliens. And that the Church was refusing to let even one ship land there because then the others would follow. The shield wouldn't survive multiple ships trying to get down there but luckily they were all too scared to make the first go, knowing the church would attack them. Which was why THEY were there without the TARDIS and mostly covert.

"Oh my god," Clara gasped and stepped away from Mac.

"What is it?" Mac asked, trying to keep both her and the Doctor in sight.

"There's something under the snow," Clara kept walking, "It's... cold," she knelt down, Mac starting to move over to try and see what Clara had glimpsed, "It's stone. It's just stone. It's only a statue."

"Clara get back!" Mac gasped, seeing the arm had moved position the second Clara turned away to face them and she blinked, grabbing her ankle and nearly sending Clara toppling over had she not rushed over to grab her and steady her.

"Clara, keep looking at it, don't look away!" the Doctor ordered, hurrying to help them, "Don't even... blink!"

"What is it?" Clara gasped.

The Doctor swallowed, crouching down to look closer, "There is a Weeping Angel under the snow. Looks like a statue, isn't a statue. Can you get your foot out?"

Clara tried to wiggle it a bit, "Only if I get it out of my shoe."

"Holographic clothes Clara," Mac reminded her, "You're not wearing a shoe."

"Right," Clara nodded, "Then yes."

"Ok, the Doctor stood, moving to Clara's other side to help Mac steady her, "On the count of three, you pull, ok?" she nodded, "One, two, three! Yeah!" the three of them tugged back, freeing Clara's foot…but sending them all tumbling down a hill. They rolled and rolled till they landed in a heap at the base of the hill, in a small clearing…but they were far from safe for all around them there were more statues, more Weeping Angels clawing their way out of the snow, moving more and more with each time they blinked or shifted their eyes to try and keep all of them in sight.

"They're climbing out of the snow!" Clara cried, backing up to the Time Lords, all of them back to back, "Oh, God!"

"Keep looking at them," the Doctor ordered, "At all of them."

"Why?"

"They can't move if you see them," Mac told her simply but quickly.

"What are they doing here?!"

"Same as everybody else," the Doctor swallowed, starting to pat himself down, "Must've got past Tasha's shield. Keep looking!"

"I can't," Clara tried, but there was snow falling around them, getting in their eyes, dragging their hair down, "I can't see, the snow's in my eyes."

"We have to get to the TARDIS," Mac told them.

"You can't fly it remotely!"

"No, but it can home in on the key!" the Doctor started to feel around the back of his head.

"But she took your key!"

"She took A key," Mac sighed a moment before the Doctor ripped something off his head and held up a key, the three of them disappearing and reappearing a split second later in the console room. She looked over to see Clara staring in shock at the Doctor, her eyes wide, a hand over her mouth, the other pointing at him…as he stood there with a brown wig in his hand, his head completely bald, and holding up a key.

"Ah," the Doctor grinned, "The old key in the quiff routine. Classic!" he turned and set the wig on top of Handles, before he moved to the console, Mac with him, the woman shaking her head at him.

"I've got the TARDIS locked on homing in on the source of the message," Mac told him, but before he could respond, it was Clara that did it.

"You've shaved your head?" Clara gaped at the Doctor.

"Yep," he grinned, "Clever plan to get us past the shield."

"You didn't even know how the shield worked till moments ago dear," Mac pointed out.

"You got bored one night, didn't you?" Clara guessed.

"Yeah, tiny bit bored," the Doctor nodded, which was a good thing, he wouldn't have wanted Mac to need a wig. He'd really just been trying to see what he'd look like as a ginger and dyed his hair red and it ended up looking so much like a clown red that he'd tried to cut it down but it ended up being so badly done that he'd just shaved it all off.

"Is that what happened to your eyebrows?" Clara asked.

Mac let out a loud laugh at that, "I brought that up once too. Apparently they're just delicate."

"Oi," the Doctor pointed at Mac before turning to the controls again, "Right, setting us down, near the signal source. I'm going to turn the engines on silent, don't want to make a fuss…"

"Before you d that dear," Mac picked up the wig and moved to him helping him put it back on, "We need to get this set right."

"Why?"

"Your ears are like rocket fins," Clara said what they were all thinking.

He sighed, "I know."

"And I've found I am NOT an ear woman either," Mac gave another small chuckle before fixing the wig.

"Well I rather am," the Doctor countered, reaching up to brush a finger along the shell of her ear, "Your ears are adorable."

Mac just shook her head and gave him a small peck before they moved to the console to get the TARDIS past the shield. Now that they had been teleported out, the teleports retained a recording of the shield's composition, now that they knew how it worked and what sort it was, they could sneak on past just fine.

~8~

The trio stepped out of the TARDIS, Handles in the Doctor's hand, to see it had sent down in the center of the small settlement, a quaint little town that was rather period in theme it appeared, given the decorations and state of technology around them. There were trees lining the road lit with candles, lampposts with candles, wood houses, horses and carriages, it was quite Victorian in style really. And it was still night.

"Oh, it's good to be wearing clothes again," Clara smiled, she had insisted that, since they weren't going back to the church at the moment, and she didn't want an entire town of strangers to see her like that in a non-religious setting, that they wear clothes and so they'd all changed back to their normal, real clothes, "That's so much better, don't you think?"

The Doctor was just glad that now he had pockets and the sonic again while Mac was rather happy to have her own pockets of odds and ends to use.

"Now, what do we make of this place?" the Doctor soniced around, reading the results, "It's two o'clock in the afternoon…"

"So short days then," Mac mused.

"The message is coming from that tower," he added, pointing at it, when they spotted another couple, a man and a woman, strolling down the streets in front of it, "Hello!" he called to them, "Hello, there!" he took Mac's hand and started to walk over with Clara, "Right," he said quietly to them, "We're a couple of visitors from the next town. My name's probably Hank or Rock, something like that."

"Or Daisy?" Clara joked.

"Shut up," he pouted, before grinning at the couple as they reached them, "Hello, good to meet you, nice snow."

"Most pleasant to meet you too," the man shook their hands.

"Most pleasant," the woman with him agreed with a smile, "Most pleasant."

"I'm the Doctor," he introduced, "I'm a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. I stole a time machine and ran away and I've been flouting the principal law of my own people ever since," he quickly put an alarmed hand to his mouth, his eyes wide, "That wasn't quite what I was meant to say!"

"And I'm Mackenzie," Mac tried to stop herself but more blurted out, "I'm a Time Lady from Gallifrey who harbored undeserved resentment at my husband for saving my family instead of murdering them like I thought…" she put both her hands to her mouth for that, the guilt of it all was STILL eating away at her, even more so now that they knew the truth about what happened to Gallifrey.

"I'm Clara, an English teacher from planet Earth, and I've run off with a man and woman from space because I really fancy adventure and can't stand responsibilities and…" Clara quickly clamped her mouth shut too.

"I think, perhaps, you should stop talking till you get used to it," the woman before them chuckled.

"Used to what?" the Doctor frowned.

"What did you say your name was?"

"Bubbly personality masking bossy control freak!" Clara answered promptly.

Mac quickly pressed her hands more on her mouth to keep from saying anything.

Though the Doctor just grinned and pointed to his head, "I'm wearing a wig!" he blurted, and covered his mouth too.

"Oh dear, it's a truth field," Mac realized, slowly lowering her hands, but keeping them near enough to her mouth that she could cover it at any second.

"Oh, that is so quaint," the Doctor smiled, "I haven't seen a truth field in years! I'm wearing a wig!"

"I think they've gathered as much dear," Mac patted him on the shoulder.

"No one can lie in this town," the man warmed, "Especially this close to the tower."

"Doesn't that make life a bit difficult?" the Doctor called as they walked off.

"Not at all," the woman smiled at the same time the man nodded, "Yes."

"What is this town called?" Mac asked them.

"It's Christmas," the man smiled.

The Doctor frowned at that and checked his watch, "It's July."

"No," the woman laughed, "The town. The town is Christmas, that's what it's called."

"Be happy here," the man offered, "Be well," before they turned and continued on.

"How can a town be called Christmas?" Clara blinked at that.

"Easter Island?" Mac smiled at her, "Come on, we should see what this tower's all about."

The Doctor nodded and took her hand, the two of them leading Clara off to the tower, stepping into it and looking around to see what might be causing the truth field. The Doctor paused though when he heard a faint crackling noise and turned to look into another room, standing in the doorway as he looked at what laid beyond, "There you are. What took you so long?"

"What?" Mac frowned, joining him and staring at the large crack, just like the one in Amy's room, that was stretched out across the wall, glowing the same white as all the others had been, "But that's not possible…"

"What's wrong?" Clara shook her head, "It's only a crack in the wall."

"But it shouldn't be here," Mac repeated, "The Doctor closed them all."

"I knew," he whispered, "I always knew it wasn't over," he took his jacket off and set it aside, heading into the room and up to the crack.

"Mackenzie, what is it?" Clara looked at her.

"It's a crack in the fabric of reality," she told Clara, the two of them slowly moving to join the Doctor, "In 2010, on the 26th of June, the TARDIS exploded and took the Universe with it."

"Missed that…"

"I rebooted it," the Doctor waved back at them, "Put it all back together."

"That's good."

"But the TARDIS exploding on that date sent cracks through time and space," Mac continued, "We saw them all over and they should have closed upon the reboot."

"I suppose the scar tissue remains," the Doctor walked along the wall, "A structural weakness in the whole universe," he reached out to touch the edge of the crack and jumped back, "Whoa!" he breathed, staring at the wall, shocked, "Someone's trying to get through it, from outside our universe, from somewhere else," he leaned in and listened close, "Of course, of course. It makes sense."

"It does?" Clara shook her head.

"It does," Mac nodded, "If you wanted to break through something, you go for the weakest point, yes?" Clara nodded, "The scars are the weak points…this is someone's attempt to break through into our universe."

"Into this universe," the Doctor repeated quietly, before spinning around to Handles, "You said Gallifrey. Why did you say Gallifrey?"

"Analysis of message composition indicates Gallifreyan origin, according to TARDIS data banks," Handles stated.

"You said Gallifrey was gone," Clara reminded them.

"No…" Mac realized slowly, "We said it was in another universe…"

The Doctor nodded, "The message is coming through here. The truth field is too, at a guess. If it's the Time Lords…if it's the Time Lords..." he looked back at the wall and pressed a hand to it, able to faintly hear the beeping noise before he turned and grabbed for his coat, pulling a small token, a medal-like object, from it, "Seal of the High Council of Gallifrey, nicked it off the Master in the Death Zone," he spun around again and slapped it to Handles's head, "There is an algorithm imprinted in the atomic structure. Use it to decode the message."

"Message decoding," Handles analyzed it, "Message analysis proceeding. Information available. The message is a request for information."

"It's a question. Why can't you just say it's a question?!"  
"Doctor, calm down," Mac moved to his side, taking his hand, "Handles what question?"

"One that is being projected through all of time and space on a repeating cycle," Handles replied.

The Doctor let out a breath, "The oldest question in the universe, hidden in plain sight..."

"It can't be…" Mac whispered, staring at the crack, "THIS can't be its source…" she didn't know why she was denying it, perhaps some sort of denial that the proof of Gallifrey's survival had been surrounding them and they just hadn't noticed.

"Warning," Handles called, "Translation will be available to all life-forms in range. Translation follows: Doctor who? Doctor who?"

The Time Lords looked at each other as Handles repeated the question over and over, in time with the faint beeping noise. But slowly the metallic voice began to shift to resemble that of what they recalled the General's voice had been in the war room.

The Doctor fell back to lean heavily against the wall, "A question only Kenzie or I could answer. A truth field to make sure we're not lying. If we give my name, they'll know they've found the right place..." he whispered. Of course they would think of him and not Mac, he had been the most present person during their attempt to save Gallifrey, all incarnations of him and 2 of her, "And that it's safe to come through."

"The Time Lords?" Clara asked, trying to keep up, and Mac nodded, moving to the Doctor's side and taking his arm in hers, letting him lean on her in his shock, "Ok, so what then? If you answer the question, and they come back, what happens?"

Mac looked down at that, knowing full well what would happen, and…she was a pilot now. One of her top priorities had to be Clara, had to be her companion. The Doctor, the TARDIS, her companion, and then others, that was how it had to go. She swallowed hard, knowing Clara would hate her for this but as long as she was alive to hate her, so be it.

"Clara," she looked at her, "Could you go into the TARDIS and get Martha's mobile for me?" she asked.

"Why?" Clara frowned, she knew all about Martha, and Donna, and the Ponds and Rose and Sarah Jane and Jo and so many others, some from the time tunnel, others from stories. She knew that they kept a small mobile on the console and it was Martha's but they never really said why. She assumed it was because Martha could call it if she needed to…she honestly hadn't thought about them using it to call her.

"Because if we let the Time Lords through, it will be all out war," she said grimly.

"There's half a universe up there already, waiting to open fire," the Doctor reminded her.

"We'll need reinforcements and Martha can gather them if we call her on that phone."

"Got it," Clara nodded, hurrying out of the room.

A moment later Tasha's voice boomed from outside, echoing, "Doctor, Mackenzie, speak with me," the Doctor sighed but Mac helped him put his coat on again and they stepped out to see Tasha's face was projected in the sky, "Face me now!" they looked over at a set of stairs and climbed it to the top of the belfry, standing before the bells to look up at Tasha, able to see the TARDIS on the ground below, Clara just reaching it.

"Mother Superious," the Doctor called, "There is only one thing we need from you, this planet... what's it called?"

"Trenzalore," she said solemnly as they stiffened, "If you speak your name, the Time Lords will return."

"If they return, they will come in peace."

"It doesn't matter," Tasha shook her head, "They will be met with a war that will never end. The Time War will begin anew!"

Mac let out a breath, "She's giving us no choice, is she?" she murmured to the Doctor.

"Seems not," he swallowed hard and handed her his sonic, "I know you don't want to do this," he whispered, "But she has to be safe. I won't let you lose her like I've lost mine."

Mac took a deep breath and aimed it at the TARDIS, flicking it on and sending the box to take Clara back home, the two of them watching as the telephone box faded out of existence.

The Doctor took a breath, taking Mac's hand and looked up at Tasha, "They're asking for my help!"

"And if you give it, war will be the consequence," Tasha stated, "I will not that let that happen at any cost. Speak your name and this world will burn!"

"No, this planet is protected!" the Doctor flashed the sonic at the sky, dispersing the transmission before turning to flick it at the bells, making them toll. He paused at the top of the stairs, watching as the townsfolk began to gather, curious as to the reason the bells were going off, and turned to Mac, "With me?"

"Always," she nodded, squeezing his hand as they headed down the stairs to come before the people.

"So, you lot," the Doctor smiled sadly, "A quick word, thank you. Spot of news, Christmas has a new sheriff and deputy. Hello, everyone, I'm the Doctor and this is my Chosen Mackenzie."

A/N: Aww, Mac's staying with him :') I'm so sad, the story will be over tomorrow! O.O

Some notes on reviews...

Rose will definitely be in the 50th in some way for future TLs ;) I was debating having her or River be the interface in this story and was leaning more towards Rose, but when I went through editing, River was like 'hey! I'm their daughter, I'm VERY important to his future, use me!' lol :)

Yup, Mac stayed with him :) I can say I cried writing the last part :') I can't say what TL7 will be like just yet, definitely not the 7th Mac though. All I can say is she has a secret that not even the Doctor knows ;) But yes, the Doctor did love her and her him but they have a very complicated past that grew to love ;) I'm glad you're excited for her, I can't wait to post her too :)

I have no idea who the curator is :) I like to think he's the 4th Doctor but the time differential shorted out like when 10 and 5 met and it made him older :) And there's some timey wimey reason why he didn't know about 'Gallifrey Falls No More' :)

And I wanted to wish a very happy birthday to ultramasterdoctor of tumblr :) I hope you have a wonderful day ;)


	23. Time of the Doctor - Part 2

Time of the Doctor - Part 2

"_In the time that followed, the Papal Mainframe strove to maintain the peace between the Doctor and his Chosen, and their enemies. As the days passed, and the years, the Doctor and Mackenzie stayed true to their word. On the fields of Trenzalore, they stood as protector, both of their own people and their new home. Over time, their enemies would find new, stranger ways to enter the town called Christmas. With every victory, the town celebrated. In time, the Doctor seemed to forget he'd lived any other life and the people of the town came to love the man and woman who stayed for Christmas._"

~8~

Mac smiled as she sat off to the side on a small bench, a little girl on her lap that was clapping to the music going on around them, one of the town's children. She and the Doctor had been there about 300 years now, waiting for the TARDIS to come back. She absently wrung her hands even as she tried not to, she always got so worried when she thought of the TARDIS because it SHOULD have been back by now, it should have. But it wasn't and that made her worried that something had gone wrong in between it bringing Clara home and coming back and if something happened to Clara she'd never forgive herself. Oh this town was lovely, but it was doing her nerves in terribly.

One companion she could handle, a town full of men and women and children that needed protection from all the enemies of theirs that tried to sneak in and attack them…that was something that made her nerves nearly shot. It felt like every other week there was some new threat and to deal with that year after year, century after century…it was hard at times. The Doctor took it in his easy stride, as always, confident that with the two of them there the town was fine. But SHE on the other hand was a nervous wreck each time some enemy popped up. And there had been SO many. The Sontarans had tried to sneak in in an invisible vehicle, but she'd spotted the tracks in the snow. There had been a wooden Cyberman that had fallen for the Doctor's trick with his sonic and turned its blaster on itself. And each time the town celebrated. Right now even they were in the middle of one celebration. There was always plenty of food and fireworks, music and dancing and rejoicing. The children would make pictures of the latest attack and victory while puppet theaters would go off of the same. The walls of the clock tower, where they'd made their home, were covered in the pictures, saved throughout the centuries. Right now the Doctor was just finishing up teaching them the ridiculous dance he'd made at Amy's wedding, the 'Drunk Giraffe' he called it.

It almost made her sad to see him teaching them, because his cane was all too obvious as was the tiredness in his bones. He had aged, as was the curse with the regeneration he was on, he'd grown older, slowly but surely. He looked nearly her age, she'd assume, perhaps a bit older, around 50 maybe 60 now. He had a cane for when his aches would act up which was more frequent now. He was slightly hunched, his hair graying, his face wrinkling, but still with the same twinkle in his eyes, the same smile on his face. He had been thrilled at one point, to look in the mirror and see a man nearer in her age. It made things so much less awkward. The town had accepted them well enough, hadn't really cared what ages they appeared after the first few victories. But still, it was nice to see them both on equal footing.

"Time to get down, sweetie," she smiled at the little girl, setting her on the ground and watching her scramble off to her parents as Mac stood and moved over to the Doctor's side as he started to make his way through the throngs of children still dancing. He smiled the moment he saw her appear before him through the gaggle of children, winding his arm around her waist and pressing a kiss to her temple, "Feeling better?" she asked him, knowing he'd been a bit sullen before, the Daleks had tried to attack and it just brought up bad memories, especially with the Time Lords still in the crack.

He hummed a moment before reaching up with his hand still holding his cane and turned her head to get a peck and then a longer kiss from her, "I am now," he tapped her nose, chuckling as he saw her blush, she got so shy and cute around displays of affection when children were around. And speaking of children, he could feel one shadowing him from behind and turned to see one of the young boys, Barnable, had followed him, "Hello Barnable, how's your father's barn?"

"You've fixed the leak all right," Barnable nodded, "But he say it's bigger on the inside now!"

Mac shook her head at that, she knew she shouldn't have let him 'tinker' while she'd been patching the roof with duct tape, "Best not tell anyone else," she put a finger to her lips.

The Doctor nodded and winked as he pointed at Barnable, taking Mac's hand as they slowly started to make their way to the sweets, he still had a sweet tooth, only to stop short when they heard a familiar wheezing sounding behind them.

"What is it?" Barnable asked, having gone with them, "What's that noise?"

"Well," the Doctor huffed as they moved to the edge of the festivities to see the TARDIS slowly fading in and out of existence, seeming to struggle with setting down really, "Where have you been for 300 years?! Huh!"

"Hold on…" Mac frowned, seeing someone vaguely standing on the outside of the TARDIS, "Don't tell me that's…" she stared in horror as she was able to make out Clara, the girl growing more solid with each phase. She quickly turned and hurried to a nearby carriage where there was a blanket sitting.

"What's that?" Barnable watched.

"It's our ship," the Doctor stated.

"Your what?"

"Our TARDIS. That's how we got here in the first place."

Barnable frowned at that, "Does this mean you're leaving?"

Mac inched closer to the box, leaving the Doctor to talk to Barnable about that, before nearing Clara. The second the box was solid, she leapt forward, putting a blanket she'd grabbed over Clara's shoulders, "Clara are you alright?" she rubbed the girls' arm trying to warm her up from the shock, "Clara? Clara speak to me. Are you ok? Can you talk? Breathe Clara! Clara!"

"I..." Clara started to speak, her voice shaking, "I was in space…"

"You're fine now," Mac turned her gently and hugged her tightly, trying to warm her up even more.

"Well, you were in the time vortex," the Doctor countered, "She must have extended the force field. No wonder...no wonder she's late, dragging you around."

"Clara you were supposed to stay on Earth," Mac murmured.

That seemed to spark something in Clara as she slowly backed away though she gripped the blanket tighter, "You tricked me," she accused, tears in her eyes.

"I know," Mac nodded, "I'm sorry, but we knew what was coming and we couldn't let you stay here to see it."

"She saved your life," the Doctor agreed.

"You didn't even say goodbye," Clara frowned.

"Oh Clara, dear, I'm sorry," Mac moved over and hugged the girl once more, the Doctor playfully rolling his eyes before he joined them in the hug.

~8~

Mac smiled as she sat beside the Doctor on the roof of the small clock tower, a small fire burning between them and Clara as she curled up on the other side with the blanket. The turkey still wasn't done, which didn't surprise the Time Lords much as the TARDIS had been focusing on using her power to get back to them. But now that she was settled, the turkey could finish cooking. Clara had had a wander in the tower, looking at the pictures, while she had set up their small little nook, the Doctor checking there was no damage to the TARDIS or the turkey before leading her up there. They were waiting for the dawn. They hadn't been wrong when they assumed that there were very short days in Christmas, literally the day lasted all of 5 minutes. The dawn came and went and then it was night time again. But the brief time it was there to see, it was breathtaking.

"We're at a standoff right now," Mac was explaining to Clara what had happened while she'd been in the Vortex, "If they attack, we release the Time Lords. But if we try to flee, then they'll destroy the planet, Time Lords with it."

The Doctor dabbed a handkerchief on his tongue and wiped a smudge off of Handles. The robotic head was still with them, still somewhat alive but they could tell from his voice, the sort of dragging quality of it that his power would be running out very, very soon. He was rusting and fading and looked his wear and tear, "Hey," he shrugged, "After all these years, I've finally found somewhere that needs me to stick around, besides Kenzie that is," he smiled at her and she knew the only reason he wasn't including Clara in that was because Clara was HER companion, even if she was his friend as well, "A town called Christmas! Could've been worse. Right," he turned to settle Handles down onto a small nest of blankets, "There you go, buddy. Comfy?"

"Comfort is irrelevant," Handles stated, his voice slurring with the drain of his batteries.

"How's that, is that better?" he shifted him slightly.

"Affirmative."

"You just take it easy, buddy," he patted Handles on the head, "He's getting old. I do my best for him, but...we just can't get the parts, you know. Not even Kenzie's been able to find makeshift ones."

Mac smiled sadly at that, "Paperclips appear to be incompatible to Cyber tech," she remarked, "Who knew?"

"Where do you get these?" Clara held up a stick that had a marshmallow on the end of it that she was roasting over the fire.

"We have a supplier," he smirked, "The pinks ones are best," he grinned and nudged Mac, "Reminds me of Kenzie's blush," and it was true, in her new form her cheeks never seemed to grow bright red like the past hers did, her last self matching her hair in embarrassment, the prior her growing red in anger, no, this one had a nice pink tint.

"I have developed a fault," Handles stated.

"Hey, don't you worry, 'Andles," the Doctor patted him, "You're just dreaming. The sun's coming up very soon, you just hang on in there."

"I have developed a... fault. I..." the head's voice started to static out, started to flicker and deepen, "I have developed a fault."

"Hey, Handles," the Doctor picked him up, "Come on. Come on. One more dawn, you can do it. You've got it in you. Come on, just hang on in there."

"Attention! Emergency! Atten..."

"Handles, what is it, what's wrong?"

"Doctor," Mac gently put a hand on his arm, "I think it's time."

The Doctor looked at her solemnly, realizing that too, before he turned back to Handles as the head spoke, "Urgent action required! You must patch the telephone device back through the... console... unit…" its voice started to strain and fade, the lights behind its eyes and mouth flickering off as Handles finally powered down.

The Doctor sighed and bowed his head a moment, patting the head, "Thank you, Handles, and well done. Well done, mate," he set the robot off to the side as Mac squeezed his arm.

"Dawn," she nodded to the side and they turned to see the sun was indeed starting to rise. Mac helped the Doctor stand and the three of them moved to the rail of the small roof, looking out at the town as the sun illuminated it, it was just…lovely.

"What do you think of our new place?" the Doctor smiled at Clara.

"We come up here every morning to watch this," Mac leaned over, resting her head on the Doctor's shoulder as he turned his head to press a kiss to her hair.

"Reminds us of what it is we're protecting."

"It's beautiful," Clara smiled, watching the town for another moment before looking at them, "Why did you send me away?"

"I told you Clara," Mac glanced at her, "If we didn't you'd have been stuck in our war. You could have been killed."

"And if you weren't…" the Doctor swallowed hard, "You'd have grown old and we'd still be burying you here, a long time ago."

"No, you wouldn't," Clara shook her head, "I wouldn't have died or have let you get stuck here."

"Everyone gets stuck somewhere, eventually, Clara. Everything ends."

"Not love," Mac reminded him, squeezing his arm, recalling the words he'd told Emma in the Caliburn house, "Not always. Not ever."

"Not you," Clara agreed.

The Doctor gave a sad chuckle at that though, "Have you been paying attention? I'm an old man now," he gestured to his face.

"But you don't die."

"He shouldn't be aging at all Clara," Mac reminded him, "Time Lords are immortal, for the most part, barring any accidents…"

"But you DO change," Clara argued, "You pop right back up with a new face."

"And there's that 'for the most part' part," he smiled sadly, "We can change 12 times. 13 versions of us. 13 silly old Doctors."

"I prefer stupid old Doctors," Mac murmured.

"Oh?"

She hummed, "You make me feel clever."

"Well then," he smiled, "13 stupid old Doctors then."

Clara frowned at that, "But you're number 11, so..."

"Are we forgetting Captain Grumpy, eh?" he glanced at her.

"Just because he didn't call himself the Doctor during the Time War doesn't mean it wasn't a regeneration," Mac pointed out.

"Then number 12," Clara blinked.

But the Doctor waved that off, "Number ten once regenerated and kept the same face, I had vanity issues at the time."

"You STILL have vanity issues," Mac reached up to gently run her hand through his hair, "You use more product in your hair in this incarnation than I did in all 9 of mine."

He let out a small laugh at that, but sobered quickly, "So you see Clara? 12 regenerations. I can't ever do it again."

"I tried," Mac told her, "I tried to give him the rest of mine, or at least give him one…" she shook her head, "He's being his old stubborn ass of a self and not letting me."

And she really had, she'd tried to give him even one regeneration, she still had 4 more, she'd wanted to give him 2, make it even for them. He'd raged so much at that that she'd actually run out of the room in tears he'd been so angry, angrier than she'd ever seen him. It had taken weeks for them to be able to speak to each other again, for him to have come down from his anger long enough to explain his violent reaction to her attempting it. She hadn't even talked to him, at first, she'd tried to just slip one into him as he'd been napping, the regeneration energy had been going, had started to seep in…but he'd jerked away and flown into a rage, especially when she'd suggested they go for even. He didn't want her to give up her lives for him. He didn't want her to lose any regeneration she had to come. They were precious, they were a gift, a gift he had squandered and he refused to allow her to do the same. He'd explained that he wanted her to live, he wanted her to go on, into the Universe, when this was over, that SHE would have to protect the Time Lords when he was gone. That SHE would have to stay alive for their daughter. SHE would have to protect the Earth if they ever escaped Trenzalore and that there was still so much to see.

He wanted her to see it for the both of them.

She was a designated pilot now, the TARDIS would listen to her, it would survive past his death and he wanted her to do the same, he wanted her to survive and live. He'd made the mistake once of nearly killing her with their planet (or what he'd thought at the time) and he couldn't bear it again. He couldn't live with himself if he knew that her lives were cut down shorter because of him. He'd begged her, he'd actually gotten on his knees, in tears, and begged her not to ever try that again, to swear she'd live on and do all that they should have done together when he was gone, for him.

She'd agreed, reluctantly, but it was all she could do to keep him calm and to make sure he was happy. It was his dying wish and she couldn't deny him that, no matter how much it hurt.

"This is where I end up," the Doctor sighed, "This face, this version of me. We saw this planet in the future, remember? All those graves... one of them mine."

Clara stared at the Time Lords as the sun began to set, "Change the future."

"We can't," Mac said quietly, "I've been thinking about how for the last 3 centuries Clara.

"You've got your TARDIS back."

"You think we're just going to fly away, abandon everyone?" the Doctor shook his head.

"Of course not. But you've been protecting this town for over 300 years. Do you not think it's anybody else's go yet?"

"There is no one else to protect it," he reminded her, "If I go, Kenzie stays, if Kenzie goes, I stay and I can't…" he reached out and gripped Mac's hand, "I don't want the time I have left in this body to be without her there."

"And I won't not be there," Mac reassured him, "I will be right here, where I should be," she squeezed his hand.

"It won't be you forever," Clara looked at them, "And it won't be Mackenzie forever after. It'll end the same way for her as it would for you, whatever you do."

The Doctor shook his head though, "Every life we save is a victory. Every single one."

"What about _your_ life?" she insisted, "Just for once, after all of this time, have you not earned the right to think about that?"

"Clara," Mac gave her a soft shake of the head, telling she'd been having that conversation with him for the last 300 years without even needing to say it.

"Sorry," Clara looked away, "Wrong thing to say. We shouldn't be having an argument."

"We've had that argument before," Mac reached out to touch her arm, "Haven't resolved it yet."

"But…you didn't have your TARDIS then," Clara tried once more.

"Ah!" he chuckled, "Yes, well, that made it easier to stay. True."

They all looked up as there was a rumbling noise before Tasha's face appeared in the sky once more, "Doctor! Mackenzie!"

"Look who's woken up!" the Doctor called out to her.

"The Church of the Silence requests parlay. Your rights and safety are sanctified."

"We'll come up in a mo," Mac promised.

"I'm sending a transporter."

"Nah," the Doctor waved her off, "Don't bother. We've got our motor back."

Clara looked around as the projection disappeared to see it was nightfall again, "It's gone dark."

"Well, the sun's gone down."

"Already?"

"Very short days Clara, remember?" Mac offered, "Sometimes things come to an end before you realize they've even started."

~8~

The Doctor, Mac, and Clara made their way down the aisle of the Church, all three wearing their real clothes, not about to worry about the Church's regulations at the moment, they (save Clara) were too old to care right now, especially not with Christmas left undefended for the moment. They had people to get back to, like little Barnable that the Doctor had found ready to wait for them just like one Amelia Pond had been, and just wanted to get this over with.

"She hasn't aged much," Clara whispered to them as she caught sight of Tasha, standing at the end of the red-carpeted aisle with the people lining the sides of it again. The woman looked exactly like she had last time, 300 years ago.

"No, she's against ageing," the Doctor sighed.

"Approach!" Tasha ordered.

"Confess…" Mac glanced over, hearing the rasping of the Silence to see they were standing at intervals between the humans, up and down the aisle.

"What are those things?" Clara saw them too, thinking back to the last time they'd been outside Tasha's doors and seen them.

"Confess…"

"Confessional priests," the Doctor answered, the two of them having worked that out during their time on Trenzalore, "Very popular. Genetically engineered so you forget everything you told them."

Clara pulled her gaze away from the Silence and to the Doctor, blinking as she forgot them, "Told who?"

"There you go!"

"Follow me," Tasha cut in, turning stiffly to lead them away, making the Doctor and Mac frown as she didn't make her statement about the honors being followed and sacrifices being made but merely led them out and to her rooms. She didn't bother to ask Clara wait outside this time and just opened the doors to take them to the long table off to the side of her rooms. They sat down when she gestured them to before she placed a small box before the Doctor to root through, "Satisfactory?" she asked when she sat down.

"Where are the pink ones?" the Doctor huffed and Clara realized it was a box of marshmallows, now she knew who the secret supplier was.

"Don't tell him," Mac shook her head, "He's hyper enough as it is and if you give him any of the pinks he'll go into a sugar coma."

Tasha just smiled and nodded at the request.

"So this is sweet," Clara murmured, "Middle of a siege, and you three have little chats?"

"She's right," Tasha took a breath, "This situation cannot continue."

"It can't end either," the Doctor closed the box.

"Why did you ever come to Trenzalore?"

"Does that matter?" Mac glanced at her.

"The point is we DID come to Trenzalore, and nothing can change that now," the Doctor shot Tasha a glare, pointing his cane at her, "Didn't stop you trying, though, did it?"

"Not me," Tasha nearly rolled her eyes, "The Kovarian Chapter broke away. They travelled back along your timeline and tried to prevent you ever reaching Trenzalore."

"So that's who blew up my TARDIS," the Doctor mused, "I thought I'd left the bath running."

"They blew up your time capsule, created the very cracks in the universe through which the Time Lords are now calling."

"They've made a destiny trap and they didn't even realize," Mac rubbed her head, "Becoming a part of history, you can't change it."

"They engineered a psychopath to kill you."

"Don't you DARE talk about our daughter like that," Mac shot her a look as well. No matter if it was true, if River was a psychopath at one point in time, she was their daughter and she would NOT have anyone calling her that again.

Tasha held up her hands in apology.

"We never would have made it here alive without her," the Doctor reached out to take Mac's hands.

"And all the companions before and after her," she added, knowing that it wasn't just their daughter keeping them safe, their companions had had quite a large role in that.

"I am not interested in changing history," Tasha told them, "I want to change the future. The Daleks send for reinforcements daily, they are massing for war. Three days ago, they attacked the Mainframe itself."

"What?" Mac breathed, alarmed at that.

"They attacked here?" the Doctor gaped, equally disturbed.

"How did you stop them?" Clara blinked.

"Stop them?" Tasha scoffed, "It was slaughter!"

"Why didn't you call us!?" the Doctor huffed, "We could have helped."

"I tried. I died in this room, screaming your name."

They fell silent at that admission.

"Oh dear…" Mac breathed, starting to stand up and back away from the woman with the Doctor, gesturing Clara to hurry and follow them.

"Oh..." Tasha blinked, considering what she'd let slip, "I died. It's funny the things that slip your mind!" she gasped sharply at the last word and fell face down on the table.

"Clara, come over here, now," Mac called, reaching out a hand to the girl and tugging her back behind her as the Doctor tried to step forward towards Tasha, his sonic out and scanning her.

"No!" he cried out, "No, no, no, Tasha, no, please, no. Tasha, fight it!" they nearly jumped back when there was a cracking noise and TASHA started to thrash against the table before sitting straight up.

"Tasha you must fight it!" Mac urged, but a Dalek eyestalk just sprouted out of Tasha's head.

They spun to the side as the doors were blasted open and a number of Daleks rolled in, "Step away from the Dalek unit Doctor!" they ordered.

"You shouldn't even know who I am!" the Doctor stared at them horrified.

"Information concerning the Doctor was harvested from the cadaver of Tasha Lem."

"Bet she never told you how to break the Trenzalore force field, though. She'd have died first."

"Several times."

"Well, you'd better kill me, then, go on," the Doctor stepped back towards the girls, trying to keep Clara and Mac shielded, "But before you do..." he whipped out the sonic and flicked it on, activating the comms so they could all hear the message still playing.

"Doctor who? Doctor who? Doctor who?"

"I'm a tough old bird, much like my Chosen," he glanced back at Mac, "Not that you're a bird dear, well, maybe a peacock, they're rather lovely and elegant, but I don't mean it like that," he winked at her as she nodded and he turned back to the Daleks, "I'll be ages dying. Way enough time to answer a question. And even if you kill me, Kenzie will get out, oh yes, and SHE knows the answer too. As my Chosen would say, oh dear," he grinned back at her, he rather found her use of 'oh dear' cute, before he looked back at the Daleks again, "What happens then, boys?"

"You will die in silence, Doctor," the Daleks shouted, "Or your Chosen will die!"

Mac gasped as she felt someone grab her shoulder and looked back to see that Tasha had gotten up while the Daleks distracted them and grabbed her, a current shooting through her that she was sure was meant to paralyze her, but it just wasn't quite doing it…and she knew Tasha was still in there, fighting it, fighting it so that she could move.

"You so much as try to hurt her and we'll see how this ends," the Doctor threatened the Daleks.

"See, that's the problem with all this," Mac called, "You're so focused on the Doctor…you forgot that I'm a Time Lady too," she quickly pulled her hand out of her pocket, and jabbed Tasha's hand with the thumb tack in her hand, making the woman cry out in pain and stumble back, clutching her hand, "Pain receptors work wonders in snapping people out of things."

Tasha, now in control, quickly turned and threw her hand up, a Dalek laser sticking out of her hand, and blasted the Daleks back, destroying them.

"And she's back!" the Doctor cheered, rushing over to hug Mac tightly, before patting Tasha's back, "Right, get us back to the TARDIS. Can you do that?" he hurried and led Mac and Clara to the teleport in the back of the room.

"Yes," Tasha swallowed hard, running after them, "But quickly, the Dalek inside me is waking."

"So push it down," Mac told her.

"I can't."

Mac turned and took her hand, squeezing it with both of hers, "You CAN," she looked Tasha in the eye, "You have fought for everything in your entire life Tash, this is no different. You fight, fight for your people, for your followers, for those that believe in the Church, and you WIN."

Tasha nodded and gestured her to get in one of the booths, "The force field will hold for a while, but it will decay, and there are breaches already."

"Then this isn't a siege anymore," the Doctor looked at Mac as she moved to get into the booth that Clara had entered once more, "It's a war," he gave her a meaningful look and she nodded, understanding, whatever they had been dealing with before…it was going to get infinitely worse, "It's all up to you now," he turned to Tasha as Mac ducked into her booth, "Fight the Daleks, inside and out. You can do it, I know you can."

"Oh, I see," she rolled her eyes, "You've got your TARDIS back, haven't you? Time to fly away."

"Tasha, please..." he whispered, "Please," he looked at her pleadingly and she nodded, "Thank you."

"None of this was for you, you fatuous egotist. It was for the peace. Fly away!" she gave one last order before pulling a lever and sending them off.

~8~

The Doctor and Mac were moving around the console, the Doctor running tests to see how the TARDIS was doing, setting commands, while Mac ran scans of the force field and the ships around the planet to see where the breaches were, how long the field would hold up, and who seemed nearest to each breach to attack. She looked up at the Doctor and shook her head, it didn't look good, not at all.

He let out a sigh, but turned when they heard a ding from below the console, "It's done."

"What is?" Clara glanced at him from where she'd been looking at the monitor, as though she understood the Gallifreyan symbols racing past but really only could see the ships and the image of the planet.

"The turkey," Mac nudged her.

"Either or that or it's woken up," the Doctor laughed, earning a chuckle from Clara as well.

"Do you want some?" she asked, turning to go down and get it.

"Go on, then," he waved her off.

"Got any plates?"

"Do you know, I've even got Christmas crackers!"

Clara stopped at the top of the steps that led to underneath the console and turned, walking back to the two of them as they stood by the monitor, "One thing," she requested, "Both of you," she added, "Look me in the eyes so I know you're not lying…and tell me you will never send me away ever again."

The Doctor took Mac's hand as she squared her shoulders and did what she always hated, believed shouldn't be done, and tried her very best not to do…lied to her companion.

"I promise you Clara, we won't ever send you away again," she even crossed her hearts, the Doctor nodding beside her before he pressed a kiss to her temple, knowing it broke her hearts to do this.

But they had been dealing with small battles the last 300 years, battles that there HAD been some casualties in, battles that they'd tried to keep her from. And now…now they were heading into the actual WAR.

Clara grinned widely at that and turned to nearly skip down the steps, leaving them to hurry around the console as silently as they could, "Turkey smells good!" she called up to them.

"Yep, smells great," the Doctor added, catching sight of Barnable on the monitor as they finished setting the commands. He looked at Mac and took her hand, leading her to the door.

"Perfect!" they could hear Clara cheer…just as they stepped outside, the Doctor flicking the sonic on to send the TARDIS away once more, on silent, so that Clara wouldn't realize what was happening.

They stood there, on the streets of Christmas, and waited, knowing that the ride would be more subtle this time, knowing that Clara would rush out those doors with the turkey and see her home, her set of flats, and before she'd even realize it, because it would be on silent…the TARDIS would disappear behind her…

And they knew they'd succeeded in keeping her safe, in keeping her protected, when the TARDIS appeared before them only seconds later, without Clara on the outside or in as it had been set only to return when Clara wasn't there.

"If you're not leaving," Barnable asked them, watching the box appear before them, "Why did you bring it back?"

"It's a reminder," the Doctor patted him on the head.

"Of what?" he looked up at them.

"That we COULD leave," Mac told him, "But we're choosing not to."

"Yes," the Doctor took her hand, "This time…I'm choosing NOT to run," he kissed her hand and turned to lead her off, back to the clock tower.

They had a town to defend and only a short while before the force field broke entirely.

~8~

"_And so, to the fields of Trenzalore came all the Time Lords' enemies. For this was the winter of the Doctor and his Chosen. In time, when all other races had retreated or burned, only the Church of the Mainframe remained in the path of the Daleks. And so those ancient enemies, the Doctor, Mackenzie, and the Silence, stood back-to-back on the fields of Trenzalore._"

~8~

Mac knew, the moment that the TARDIS disappeared, that Tasha had taken it, that when the children came running to her as the aged, ancient Doctor took a nap to report that some woman with a black streak across her eyes had appeared on the planet and unlocked the box and that it disappeared that it was Tasha. It didn't take a genius to work out where she'd go, who she'd go to get. Clara was the only companion that had been there during this siege and war despite her not being there physically. And…Clara was HER companion. Tasha knew, better than most, that she would NEED someone there for her when the Doctor's end finally came, and it would come, far too soon. He was so old now, his hair white, his face covered in wrinkles. He wheezed as he talked and was feeble in his movements, he had hardly the strength to stand or move at times, his sleeping grew longer and she could see the signs of it, his life was nearing its end, but he kept going, he kept fighting.

She knew Tasha was keeping a monitor of them from her ship and for her to choose NOW to go get Clara…well, it meant only one thing. The Doctor's body was weakening so much that even Tasha feared his end was far too close, likely only hours away. That or the Church couldn't help any longer after even more centuries of battle, the Church realized it was a losing situation and that the Daleks and Cybermen and all the enemies that had come were going to win very soon. And still the Doctor would meet his end. Either by his own life running out or at the blast of a Dalek. She'd sworn to herself though that she would NOT let that happen, that she would do something, anything, to make sure he died on his own terms and not at the hands of their enemies, any enemy.

She looked over from where she was kneeling beside the Doctor, painting a little wooden toy he'd made for one of the children, the man himself working on carving another toy, when she heard the door open and saw Clara enter.

"Barnable?" the Doctor wheezed.

Mac looked at him with such sorrow in her eyes, not pity, she didn't pity him, but sorrow, because she knew how much he valued his mind and even that had started to fade. Barnable had died ages ago, had grown up, gotten married, had children, and passed on. There wasn't even a Barnable in the town at that moment.

"No love," she whispered, reaching out to place a soothing hand on his wrinkled one, "It's Clara. She's come back."

"Clara?" the Doctor blinked, frowning as though he needed a moment to remember who she was, before he turned and spotted her, and grinned, "Clara."

Mac breathed a sigh of relief at the recognition in his eyes. She'd taken to telling him stories about his old companions, more about the ones that she'd personally met and had adventures with, but she tried to incorporate all his past ones too. At times he forgot who they were, or got the adventures mixed up. He'd thought that it was Captain Jack Smith for the LONGEST time till he'd finally worked out it was Jack Harkness and Mickey Smith and no, they hadn't had a child together to make that name but were two separate men. It broke her hearts to see that, but one thing that made it slightly bearable, though she felt selfish for it, was that his memories of HER had never faded. He remembered each moment of their lives, of their relationship and journey with such crystal clarity that HE was the one reminding HER of certain things. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that she was the one still with him day after day, year after year, that he just remembered her more, but she liked to think it was also that he loved her.

"Hello, Doctor," Clara greeted, tears in her eyes to see him so old, appearing nearly 80 now. The roles were reversed it seemed, for so long it had been Mac that was older, that people assumed was his mother and he her son, now it was more that the Doctor was her father and she his daughter, "Mackenzie."

"Were you always so young?" the Doctor joked as he pulled off Amy's reading glasses and tossed them aside, Mac watching them go in sadness. He couldn't remember where they'd come from, insisted they were just some novelty he'd found in his pocket when she tried to remind him they were Amy's because sweet Amelia Pond didn't need glasses, she was only 7 years old!

"Nah," Clara knelt down, reaching out to touch his arm, "That was you."

"Ah..." he nodded.

"Welcome back Clara," Mac gave her an apologetic smile.

Clara looked at her in understanding. She'd had to walk through the battle, more like run, to get there. She couldn't imagine the hell it had been for them to live in the middle of a war for so long, she knew they were truly saving her this time, "Merry Christmas," she offered.

"Merry Christmas," the Doctor grinned.

"Brought you something," she smiled tentatively and held up a large Christmas Cracker in front of her.

Mac reached out with the Doctor to take one end, knowing that he was weaker than normal and knowing he hated others seeing it, if he tried to pull it himself, he wouldn't be able to and she wouldn't let him suffer that. So she pulled it with him, the small cracker opening easily with a pop.

"Ah!" he laughed, "Is there a joke? Huh?"

"Extract from 'Thoughts On A Clock' by Eric Ritchie Jr," Clara read it.

"I love that poem," Mac smiled.

"Is it a knock-knock one?" the Doctor asked, settling back into his chair as though he hadn't heard her, "Those are best."

"It's a poem," Mac said slowly and a little louder, looking at the Doctor so he could see her lips moving as well, "'And now it's time for one last bow," she recited from memory, "Like all your other selves. Eleven's hour is over now," her voice caught, the irony of the poem hitting her, making her voice crack as she trailed off.

"'The clock is striking twelve's,'" Clara finished for her.

"I don't get it," the Doctor's face scrunched in confusion.

"Doctor!" a Dalek's metallic voice boomed outside, making them, even the Doctor, look towards the doors, "The Doctor will be brought! The Daleks demand the Doctor!"

"They're here!" a young boy called, rushing in, appearing to be in his late teens, "The Daleks, we can't stop them. They want you."

"Oh, alright, Barnable," the Doctor sighed, Mac offering the boy an apologetic smile.

"We'll be there in a moment, Clarence," she told him, nodding at him.

"Yes, yes, we've got a plan, don't worry," the Doctor smiled, the boy gave a nod in return and hurried out. But then he sighed, "We haven't got a plan, but people love it when one of us says that."

Mac handed him his cane and helped him stand as Clara frowned at them, "Doctor, what are you going to do?"

"Oh, I don't know," he winced, trying to stretch, "Talk very fast, hope something good happens, take the credit. That's generally how it works unless it's one of Kenzie's plans," he kissed Mac on the cheek, "Then she gets the proper credit."

"Doctor..." Clara frowned.  
"Not this time, though," he sighed, looking at Clara, "This is it."

"No!"

"Yes. We saw the future, Clara. This is how it ends."

"Change it! Like Tasha said, change the future!"

"The only way to do it," Mac sighed, "Is if the Time Lord were back," she told Clara, "And even now, we can't pull them out of one war and into another."

"Now," the Doctor turned, slowly slipping out of Mac's support to point at Clara, "You're going to stay here. Promise me you will…"

"Why?" Clara frowned.

"I'll be keeping Kenzie's companion safe," he said simply, "One last victory. Allow me that. Give me that..." he hugged her tightly, "Our impossible girl. Thank you. And goodbye," he stepped back and looked at Mac, "And you, Miss Mackenzie of UNIT," he joked, reaching out to take her hand, "Get to the TARDIS," he whispered, his voice growing soft and quiet, "Get there and when this is over, stop them, save the town, do…something I couldn't. I know you can," he kissed her hand.

"No," she shook her head, "I'm going with you, I'm going to face them WITH you."

"You can't," he gave a sad smile, "Because I can't face them knowing you're not safe. Please," he dropped his voice, "Please, let my last moments be knowing that you're alive and safe. That is…that's all I want."

Mac felt tears in her eyes but she nodded, unable to deny him that request with him looking at her so pleadingly, with him begging her for his last moments to be of her safety, his last moments to be of her, "Give them hell."

He winked at her and turned to shuffle towards the doors, "The trouble with Daleks is, they take so long to say anything. Probably die of boredom before they shoot me."

Mac swallowed hard, wincing as the Daleks shouted, "The Doctor is required!" before she hurried to the doors after him, needing to get to the TARDIS, because he had asked her. But she paused, hearing Clara speaking behind her and turned, thinking, for a moment, the woman was talking to her, but she saw it, Clara was facing the crack in the wall.

"Listen to me, you lot, listen! Help him. Help him change the future. Do it. Do something," Clara knelt by the crack, "You've been asking a question... and it's time someone told you you've been getting it wrong. His name...his name is the Doctor, just like his Chosen is Mackenzie. And that really is ALL the name either of them needs. Everything you need to know about them truly. And if you love him, and you should, help him. Help him."

Mac smiled at that, at how Clara was trying to help even now…but the crack just snapped shut. She swallowed hard and turned to run out of the door, to the TARDIS, unlocking it quickly and getting in, rushing to get the box going so that she could get everyone in the town inside, so that she could go get Clara from the clock tower…but then she saw her on the monitor, rushing out and to the towns people, urging them to get into town hall. She let out a breath, at least they'd be safe in the building for now, the Daleks, it appeared, were all focused on the Doctor as he reached the top of the bell tower.

"Sorry, I'm a bit slow," he called up to them, hunched over, leaning on his cane, so old and tired that she felt tears come to her eyes. She should be there, she should be there with him, but he'd wanted her here, where she was protected and where she could protect in return, "I may not be at my best right now."

"You are dying, Doctor," a Dalek hovered before him.

"Yes," he moved to sit back on a small bench that had been moved up there, "I'm dying. You've been trying to kill me for centuries, and here I am, dying of old age. If you want something done, do it yourself."

"You will die, and the Time Lords will never return."

She could see the smirk on his face, she knew he was thinking of her, that SHE could bring them back, but he wasn't going to remind them of it, "You still can't work up the courage to shoot me, can you?" he pointed his cane at them, "You're still worried I've got something up my sleeve. Well, you knock yourselves out, boys. I've got nothing this time."

Mac reached for a lever, about to pull it, about to send the TARDIS off, to stop the Daleks as they prepared to attack, TARDISes had been used in the wars and given how the TARDIS was humming now, the box wanted to go help to…

When something she was not expecting, something she didn't think was possible happened.

The crack, the same one the Time Lords had been calling through…opened right in the middle of the dark sky. And from that crack, a soft golden energy drifted down, right to the Doctor, entering him as he breathed in and swirling inside him. Mac put her hands to her mouth, her eyes wide as she saw his hands starting to glow with regeneration!

"You will die now, Doctor!" the Daleks cried, and Mac nearly literally cried at that, because it was true…the Doctor was going to die, he was dying right before her eyes…but this time…he would be coming back with a vengeance, "This is the end of you! The rules of regeneration are known. You have expended all your lives."

Mac laughed with joy as the Doctor nearly jumped to his feet, his energy back, "Sorry, what did you say? Did you mention the rules? Now, listen! Bit of advice. Tell me the truth if you think you know it. Lay down the law, if you're feeling brave, but, Daleks, never, ever tell me the rules! Only my Chosen gets to do that!"

"And you never listen when I do!" she shook her head, feeling tears glistening in her eyes, likely falling down her cheeks but she kept her eyes glued to the screen.

"Emergency!" the Daleks finally seemed to realize what was happening, "Emergency! The Doctor is regenerating! The Doctor is regenerating!"

"Oh, look at this!" the Doctor cheered, doing a little dance as the bell struck twelve, "Regeneration number 13. We're breaking some serious science here, boys. I tell you what, it's going to be a whopper!"

"Exterminate! Exterminate the Doctor."

The Doctor laughed darkly at that, "You think you can stop me now, Daleks? If you want my life...come...and…get it!" he wound his arm around in a windmill, before throwing it up to the sky, sending out a violent burst of regeneration energy, before doing the same with his other arm, each blast, each burst, destroying the Daleks whizzing in the sky around them.

"Get inside!" she could hear Clara shouting and nearly cursed herself for forgetting that Clara and the town were still out there, scrambling for the town hall, "Get off street, get inside, quick. Quick!"

The Doctor grinned, "Love from Gallifrey, boys!" he threw his head back, the regeneration energy shooting out of his head and neck, right up at the sky, at the large Dalek mother ship hovering right above him, destroying that, the energy shooting out of him in every single direction and taking out enemy after enemy.

Mac shook her head and turned, running around the console to get the box off…she had a Doctor to get to.

~8~

Mac looked up from where she was cleaning up a bowl of fish fingers and custard when she heard the doors to the TARDIS open and smiled when she saw Clara entre. The girl looked down at the clothing lying on the floor, the old clothes the Doctor had worn, all frayed and patched up, and then up at her, standing there, "Where is he?" Clara asked.

"Getting changed," Mac offered, "He um…he wanted to go out in his best form."

Clara nodded and moved beside her, grimacing at the fish fingers and custard, till Mac put a hand on her arm and nodded to the side where the Doctor, looking young as ever, just like when they first set down on Trenzalore, stepped up to join them in his purple outfit. Mac smiled softly at him, she'd seen his age regressing from the moment she had the TARDIS materialize around him as he laid on the floor of the clock tower's belfry. He'd woken up, looked at his hands slowly aging downwards, given her a kiss when she offered him his favorite food, and said he'd be right back before he hurried off down the stairs, calling something about looking his best to truly go out with a bang. Her hearts had broken, because she knew what it meant, he wasn't regressing in age, he was just regenerating to the point where he first encountered the crack before it would change him to the next him.

"Doctor," Clara breathed, smiling at him.

"Hello," he offered them a sad smile.

"You're young again. You're ok. You didn't even change your face."

"Not quite Clara," Mac squeezed her arm before letting go, "The regeneration's still going, it's resetting essentially."

"Yes," he pointed at her, "Gave me a whole new regeneration cycle, ooh..." he smiled and picked up the bowl of custard, eating one of the fish fingers in it, savoring what might be his last enjoyable bite of it, "Taking a bit longer. Just breaking it in," he moved to set the bowl down but wobbled shakily, so Mac took it and placed it down for him, before she moved to the console and pulled a lever to send them off,"It all just disappears, doesn't it?" he murmured, looking at the two of them, "Everything you are, gone in a moment, like breath on a mirror. Any moment now, he's a-coming."

"Who's coming?" Clara frowned, glancing from him to Mac and back.

"The Doctor."

"You... you are the Doctor," she turned to him.

"Yep," he winced, nearly hunching over as a pain hit him, only to stare at his hand, "And I always will be," he held it up, seeing it glowing with a softer regeneration energy, "But times change," he nodded, "And so must I," he took a breath and looked at Mac, "I wish Amelia could be here too," he admitted.

"…Amelia Pond?" Clara asked, hesitating a moment, recalling the name of his last companion.

He tapped his nose and pointed at her, before smiling at Mac sadly, "My companion, and yours," he mused with a sad sigh, "But," he reached out to Mac and took her hand, gently tugging her to him, "I've got you," he smiled, "The first face this face saw. I want you to be the first the next one sees too."

Mac looked at him with tears in her eyes, even with this being a natural process, it still hurt to know he was dying, "I should have given you those regenerations," she whispered, "You wouldn't have had to suffer growing so old or that regeneration," she knew it had hurt him more than any other, it was painful, it looked painful and she could see it in his eyes how much that last violent one had hurt.

"I didn't want you to," he told her, reaching up to touch her cheek, "I wanted that, I WANTED to grow old, with you."

"But I didn't," she reminded him quietly, "YOU grew old, and I stayed the same."

"I wanted it that way," he nodded, looking at her with eyes full of love, "_From the moment I realized I loved you Naery,_" he said in Gallifreyan, "_From the moment I realized I wanted you to be my Chosen…I made mistake after mistake. I pushed you away when, in my hearts, I wanted a life with you, I wanted you to be it for me. I wanted to be able to start my life with you, to grow old and end my life with you as well,_" he let out a small chuckle, "_Seems to be the curse of our relationship, it's always out of order._"

"_Like our daughter,_" she gave a sad laugh, tears falling from her eyes.

"_Yes,_" he nodded, "_I see where she gets her luck from,_" he joked, but sobered, "_I did get it though,_" he wiped a tear away, "_I got to see myself grow old, I got to have that ending with YOU. And now…_" he smiled, "_Now I get to start my life with you,_" he gently brought her hand up to touch his hearts in the center, "_My Kenzie, my Naery, my Chosen . I love you, Naey,_" he told her earnestly, "_So much. In this life and the next._"

"_I love you too,_" she whispered as he leaned down and kissed her one more time before he pulled away, resting his forehead to hers for a moment, just taking a second to burn this into his memory, "_And I will love the next you,_" she promised, "_I will never stop loving YOU, Theta._"

He grinned, nodding against her head before pulling back, "_I'm glad,_" he took a breath and squeezed her hand, before he stepped back, not quite sure how the rest of the regeneration would go, if there might be another burst or if it would be quick, whatever it was he didn't want to be too close and harm her.

"We all change," he spoke once more, in English, for Clara's sake though judging by the tears in her eyes she had a general understanding of the meaning of their moment and had remained quiet for them, giving them their privacy and their last words together, "When you think about it. We're all different people all through our lives. And that's ok, that's good, you've got to keep moving, so long as you remember all the people that you used to be. I will not forget one line of this. Not one day. I swear. I will always remember when the Doctor was me."

He gave them a small smile before he reached up and gently tugged off his bowtie…and let it fall to the floor in a ribbon.

"No," Clara shook her head, tearfully, "No…"

"It's ok Clara," Mac moved to her side, putting an arm around her as Clara reached up to clutch the arm across her front, "It'll all be alright," she promised both the girl and the Doctor.

The Doctor smiled at them, giving Mac a wink…

Before he suddenly jerked back, nearly falling backwards onto the console, and shot back up again, a different man in the blink of an eye. Clara stared with wide eyes, but Mac just smiled at him as he looked at her. He was thin and tall, appearing to be about 50 to 55, nearly the age SHE appeared and she knew that the Doctor had likely had something to do with that given how much it had bothered her that he was so young looking compared to her. He had a few wrinkles, and a severe stare, his eyes were a brilliant blue and his hair a short, curly gray and…

"Oh dear," Mac nearly laughed.

"What?" Clara looked between the two, not sure what was so funny.

"Your eyebrows," Mac pointed at the Doctor.

He blinked, breaking his owlish stare at her, "What about them?" he asked, his voice deep.

"You HAVE them," Mac told him.

The Doctor straightened a moment and reached up to run a finger along them, before he gave her a small grin and held out a hand to her. Mac reached out and took it without hesitation, allowing him to look at it as though he hadn't seen it before, which he likely hadn't, not with his new eyes, before he threaded their fingers together and started to smile…

Before he hunched over and griped the side of his abdomen with his free hand, "Kidneys!" he gasped, "I've got new kidneys," and then he grimaced, "I don't like the color."

Clara blinked, "Of your kidneys?" but before he could answer, the TARDIS started to jolt and shudder, nearly knocking them all off balance, forcing the Time Lords to let go of each other's hands, "What's happening?!"

"We're probably crashing!" the Doctor shouted, frantic, "Oh!"

"There's no probably about that!" Mac called, already at the monitor.

"Into what?" Clara hurried to grab onto the console for support.

"Stay calm," the Doctor rushed about, reaching one side of the console and bracing himself on it, "Just one question…" he looked at them, "Do you happen to know how to fly this thing?"

"About as much as you do," Mac told him, pulling a lever and trying to stop the TARDIS as it when whizzing off to where…they didn't know.

To be continued...in...Searching the Stars!

A/N: Oh boy it's all over! O.O ...at least till Series 8 comes out lol :) This story will be picked up about 3 months after Series 8 finishes airing as I'll be updating Proffy's story first (2 weeks) then Evy (4 weeks) then Angel (about 7 weeks), which is round about 3 months ;) But I'll also be doing the UNIT files every other month so we'll have a bit of Mac to see before then :)

I wanted to take a moment to say thank you guys, to anyone who's read/reviewed/favorited/followed/anything this story :') You all mean the world to me and I'm very glad you enjoyed it :) You're the reason I write and I love you all so much :)

If you're interested, on the 10th I'll be posting a Thor/OC story ;) And, if you'd like, check back around July 9th, I'll be posting TL7, the Doctor's Wife, as an OC then ;)

And...the 9th Mac's theme song is officially...Curious Developments, by Brand X Music :)

Some notes on reviews...

Yup, TL7 will be a bit involved in Torchwood :) I'm considering a spinoff where I might revise some Torchwood episodes (kind of like the UNIT files but the episodes) that would feature the OC so that we get more background of her, but it'll depend on if people are interested in that :)

I'm not quite overwhelmed just yet :) I feel like each OC is so different that they'd all react differently and have their own unique twists because of their reactions. It sort of just falls into place really, just kinda happens when they take over an episode :) I'm very much hoping that Gallifrey returns so we can see Mac with her family as they were such a big part of why she resented the Doctor and why she was so devastated to not have children :) When I first wrote TAS, I made Proffy Katherine just for the Kat(a) part in Human Nature/Family of Blood, I made her Stewart because of the Brig...but I honestly had NO idea that there was an actual Kate Stewart till Power of Three :) That was one of the very happy coincidences that I LOVED :) I probably wouldn't do 2 surviving mother/son thing, just because I feel like the Doctor is so complex to build a relationship with that a child would almost overdo it. I can't see the Doctor's son being there as another OC just because I truly feel that the Doctor's family died in the war, legitimately died, because he would NOT have done what he was preparing to do (or thought he did) if his family was alive, especially with how much children affect him, he'd have saved them at the very least. If he had time to walk across a planet, then I think he had time to find his last remaining family and get them off world. So I probably wouldn't write one where one of his children survived, I genuinely don't think they did :(

I can say there's a tiny twist for TL7 that would make her being there in Series 1 and on difficult, but we might see a potential AU around the end of Series 2, depending on how the story goes :) She probably wouldn't be able to be there through Classic Who as, I feel like the Doctor leaving for all his adventures with Susan might mean that someone had to stay home with the family and that was his wife :( But we'll have to see how TL7's story goes ;) I can't believe it's over too! :'( But it was a fun ride :)


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